The Princess and the Carpenter
by WickedgreenPhantom
Summary: He was a poor apprentice carpenter, working long hours for little pay to support his mother and sister. She was the crown princess, living in supposed luxury, hidden from the world and those she loved most. They never should have met, let alone fallen in love, but they did. Does their love stand a chance or will their differing status tear them apart? Modern royal AU
1. Chapter 1

The royal family of Arendelle were an enigma. In a time when social media and the paparazzi meant that the public had greater access to the world's monarchs than ever before, the Arendelle royals managed to withhold their privacy whilst still ruling over a happy, albeit curious kingdom. Despite their secretive nature, the royal family still managed to earn the respect and adoration of their people.

As a family, they hadn't always been so private. For years, King Agdar and Queen Idun had prided themselves on being accessible to their people, wanting to instill a sense of unity and mutual respect in the individuals that they served. It was important to them that all members of the Arendelle society, both young and old, rich or poor, felt that they were important to the kingdom and that their royal family would always be there to take into account the things which mattered to them. In order to achieve this, the royals had made it part of their job to get out and about with their people and to meet with them in both formal and informal settings which allowed the locals the opportunity to get a glimpse at the person who lay underneath the royal title.

King Agdar, could often be found with only a small number of guards, visiting the local snooker club where he'd partake in a game with anyone who was willing to compete. The informal atmosphere allowed him to interact with the people whom he was responsible for, in a more honest, down to earth setting. When he wasn't playing snooker, he was shooting hoops at the local basketball courts where he was famous for his good-natured, one-on-one grudge matches against Kai, a long term trusted castle employee.

Queen Idun, on the other-hand, took to getting out amongst the people of Arendell in a quieter, less physically demanding setting. She was often found browsing the local library or visiting garden stores with the castle landscaper where she would select the plants and flowers that would go on to line the garden of the royal residence. Idun kept a down to earth persona and preferred to drop in on book clubs where she would discuss the latest novels or catching up over coffee with friends at a variety of local cafes. No matter where she was, Idun always strove to make herself approachable and would encourage the guards who watched over her to maintain a happy disposition, allowing the locals to feel safe to greet their queen.

After the birth of Crown Princess Elsa and Princess Anna, the royals had become even more accessible. The princesses had been welcomed by the adoring public, all of whom found great happiness in seeing pictures of the young girls or catching a glimpse of them out in public. The girls could often be seen out with their parents who would take them for a sweet treat from a local bakery or ice cream shop where their antics would amuse and delight the public.

It was their roles as parents which had helped to further strengthen their ties with the people of Arendelle and whether in a formal or informal setting, the king and queen would share their stories of their daughters, happily regaling the crowd with tales of the beloved girl's antics.

As a new mother, Idun had taken to visiting the local mother's groups and allowing her daughters to play with the local children, all the while she chatted with fellow parents. The playgroups serving a dual purpose in that they not only helped to tire out the young Elsa and Anna, but they also allowed Idun to swap parenting tips and learn about the issues that Arendelle families were facing before going home to relay the information to Agdar so that they could best serve to assist the children of their kingdom.

However, all had changed eight years ago, when the people of Arendelle had woken one morning to find the gates of the royal residence closed and news of castle staff being laid off.

Confused, the townsfolk had turned to the media and had searched on the royal family's official website for a reason behind the sudden change. It was there that they discovered a pre-recorded video message featuring Agdar and Idun, who claimed that because their girls aged eight and five were getting older, that they as a family had decided to limit their public exposure. They had decided that by reducing the girl's public exposure that it would provide their daughter's with the privacy to grow and learn the skills they would need to serve their people in an environment where their every move was not likely to be documented by the media.

The explanation had only served to create further intrigue and there were those in the community who agreed wholeheartedly with the decision, citing examples of media reports on international royal children and the often harsh way in which they were judged or followed relentlessly by paparazzi. Others, however, felt something didn't add up, especially given the fact that the majority of the public doted on the princesses and felt a sense of protectiveness and pride for the adorable girls. Still, it had been evident in the video that Agdar and Idun had made their decision and did not wish to further discuss their reasons and as such, the people of Arendelle felt it best to respect their king and queen's wishes.

…**..~X~...**

Elsa sighed and glanced at her watch.

The time was rapidly approaching 4pm when she was due to go for her scheduled afternoon walk and yet the men in the yard below her seemed to be showing no signs of slowing down.

Stalking over to the window, she pulled back the blind and peered down at the yard, letting out an exasperated sigh when she noticed that the carpenter's appeared to be still in the midst of their work and were walking freely amongst the garden. She'd been certain that the men would have finished by now, a sentiment that her parents had appeared to have shared when she'd raised the issue with them earlier that morning.

A knock on the door disturbed her. Straightening up, Elsa moved to open the door where she found one of her parent's most trusted servants Gerda waiting for her.

"Princess Elsa," Gerda began, curtseying. "Your parents have sent me to ask if you shall be taking your afternoon yard time today?"

Elsa nodded. "Thank you, Gerda," she replied. "You may tell my parents that I shall be taking my walk. I will just need a minute to prepare myself."

"Very well, Princess, I shall go inform your parents," Gerda said, bowing her head once more before turning to scurry down the hall.

Taking a deep breath, Elsa headed to her large closet where she pulled out a pair of simple flats and slid them onto her feet. She then moved to her bedside table and grabbed her iPod and the latest Jodi Picoult novel before opening the door and slipping out of her bedroom.

Her eyes scanned the corridor of the sleeping quarters, keeping a constant watch in case her thirteen year old sister Anna decided to try her hand at catching her whilst she left for her afternoon walk. The younger girl had been known in the past to poke her head out in an attempt to catch her unaware. Each time she had one simple request, she wanted to spend time with Elsa and every time the answer remained the same. She couldn't.

It pained Elsa deeply to deny her sister and to repeatedly send her away with little explanation as to why they could not interact. Every time it was the same- Anna's freckled face would light up and a wide smile would creep across her face in the hopes that Elsa could play, only to fall to a frown when she was turned away. Still, it was for her own safety and Elsa knew that much as she'd love to spend time with her sister, it was more important that she kept her safe, after all, it was her birthright as not only Anna's sister, but as her future queen. Elsa had to protect Anna, no matter what the cost was.

It hadn't always been that way for the girls. There had been a time, only eight years ago when Elsa and her sister were the best of friends and had shared a room, spending every spare moment with each other. Then it had happened, Elsa had risked Anna's life, all because she, as the older sister, had been irresponsible and had treated her curse as a source of amusement.

_It was a warm Summer night and eight year old Elsa had been fast asleep in her bed when five year old Anna had woken her, climbing on top of her sleeping sibling and begging her to build a snowman. Initially Elsa had denied her, telling her to go to sleep, but as usual the younger girl had been insistent and Elsa had found herself agreeing and had allowed Anna to drag her through the quiet halls of the castle towards the ballroom._

_Once inside the ballroom, Elsa had done her 'magic', allowing the snow to form in the palm of her hand and turning the empty room into a winter wonderland to the delight of Anna. Giggling, Anna had spun around, revelling in the cool snow which fell from within the large room. Elsa had happily indulged her by making mounds to slide down and even creating a snowman she'd named Olaf to 'talk' to Anna._

_All had been going well and the two princesses had been enjoying themselves, happily playing whilst the rest of the castle inhabitants slept. Anna had been jumping from mound to mound, revelling in the attention of her older sibling when tragedy had struck._

_In her enthusiasm, Anna had mistimed a jump and was at risk of falling and hurting herself. Desperate to help her sister, Elsa had aimed her hand, trying to create a mound of snow to soften Anna's fall. Only her attempt had backfired and she had slipped on the ice. Sadly, her powers had struck Anna, hitting her on her head and causing her to fall limp to the ground with a white streak quickly appearing on her strawberry blonde hair._

_Fearfully, Elsa had called for their parents, clinging to Anna's unconscious body whilst her fear took over and the snow began to melt, turning the room from a winter wonderland into a cold, dangerous mess. Her parents had acted fast, scooping their daughters up and bundling them into the back of the family's car. They hadn't even bothered to wake their chauffeur, instead, her father had taken the wheel, driving them out of the city and to a small town located in the nearby mountains to find a naturopath, Patrick 'Pabbie' Johnston._

_Elsa had clung tearfully to her father, watching as Pabbie tended to Anna. She'd only met the older gentleman once before, he was the leader of a small commune of people, all living off the land and venturing into the city only when needed. Pabbie was one of the few people outside of their immediate family who was aware of Elsa's powers and whilst he had no idea how or why she'd been born with the power of ice and snow, he had promised to help the royal family to try and work with the condition naturally, rather than risk subjecting the young Elsa to a series of invasive medical tests that conventional medical practitioners would insist on. _

_Finally, after a few minutes and the administering of a few herbs, Anna had regained consciousness. As part of the treatment, her memory had been altered, meaning that she had no recollection of the events that had unfolded. Instead she'd shrugged off the hugs from her parents, unsure as to how or why they found themselves in the middle of nowhere late at night. Her only concern was trying to convince her parents to let her play with Marshmallow, Pabbie's fluffy white cat. _

Elsa shook her head, ridding herself of the painful memories. That night had changed everything for her and for her family.

She had woken the next morning to a series of changes, starting with several castle staff members losing their jobs, reducing the amount of people who could discover the truth about Elsa's condition. The staff who remained had been told that only a small handful of them would be allowed to have extended contact with Elsa and she was to be left alone unless otherwise stated due to a medical ailment. Her schooling had had to change, no longer would she be taught in a room with Anna, she was now to receive all her education alone in her own private study and would be tutored via online education with emailing and Skype calls serving as contact between her and her private tutor. The only lessons which remained the same were her etiquette classes and even then her father had altered his timetable to allow him to sit in and supervise, keeping a close eye so that she couldn't hurt anyone else.

Her friendship with Anna had ended. She would forever love her sister, but they could no longer be friends. Luckily, Anna had woken with no recollection of the night before nor of Elsa's powers. In her desire to keep her sister safe, Elsa had moved out of their shared bedroom, agreeing with her parents that it would work best if she were to refrain from unnecessary contact with her sister. Initially Anna had begged her daily, taking to hanging outside of Elsa's new bedroom door, knocking and begging her to play, only to be ignored.

She knew that Anna didn't understand, her parents had told her that Anna continuously asked to be allowed to play with Elsa, however the answer had to be no. Elsa had been wrong for the first eight years of her life, her powers didn't make her unique, they made her a monster.

…**~X~...**

Jack groaned, hauling a plank of wood over his shoulder and carrying it to the makeshift workbench. Laying it down, he carefully measured it, marking the spot where he'd have to cut it. He caught sight of his watch and sighed when he noticed how late it was getting.

There was not many times when Jack regretted leaving school before his senior year, but they did happen, mostly when he realised that had he remained in school he'd be at home relaxing, instead of working hard in a physically demanding job. Still, as the only male left in his family, it was his duty to assist his mother and to help provide for his sister, especially when the joke he'd called a father had walked out three years earlier, abandoning his then fourteen year old son, six year old daughter Emily and his loving wife.

Richard Overland's decision to leave his family had made an impact on Jack. Not long after he'd left, Jack had changed his name, refusing to accept his father's surname of Overland and going by Frost, his mother's maiden name. In his desire to help out, he'd taken to stepping up around the house, learning a few skills such as how to change a tire, work the lawn mower and other jobs that could assist his mother Caroline. At sixteen, Jack had left school, accepting an apprenticeship with Guardians Carpentry where he worked under the watchful eye of Alexander Moon.

"Yo, Frost," the sound of a broad Australian accent called. Grinning, Jack looked up, watching as his colleague, Aster Bunnymund walked towards him. "Time for a break, you've got an hour. The boss says you have to take it, he knows you've skipped lunch you little rat"

Jack chuckled, shooting the older man a wry grin. "Guilty, but you know, we're working for the royal family. Of all the jobs, this is the one where we have to really do our best," he said, cocking his head in the direction of the grand castle. "After all, don't want to disappoint the king."

"Mate, you and I, we work for Ol' Moony," Aster joked, gently nudging Jack out of the way. "It's our boss who works for the king in this case. You and I, we still work for the moon-man. Don't let the castle intimidate you, it's just another job and you still need to take your scheduled lunch break."

Jack nodded, removing his safety goggles and tucking them into the shirt before heading towards the van where he'd stored his lunch. He had to admit, he had felt overwhelmed being asked to work on the castle project.

The project in itself was rather simple, the king wanted a new pergola and the addition of a few more benches around the yard. However, the fact that they were working for the king and on the grounds of the castle was hard to ignore. Arriving on location that morning, Jack had had to exit his car, allowing the guards to glimpse at his identification and conduct a full body frisk as well as searching his work truck prior to allowing him entry onto the castle grounds. Once he'd made it inside the gates, the sheer size of the castle and grounds had left him awed.

Jack had been nine years old when the royal family had chosen to close the gates, reducing the sight of the large castle from outside the gate. Over the years the mystery surrounding the castle and the royal family had grown. Jack had heard rumours on the schoolyard that the king and queen had lost their money and the castle was slowly falling apart, hence they had shut the gates, not wanting the people they served to see the state of their home. However, looking at the grand building and neat garden, Jack knew that that had been a rumour. The other rumour that had gone around was that the princesses had passed away, leaving the king and queen distraught and mourning their loss.

His own mother had told him stories, tales from his past when she had been at a mothers group with the then three year old Jack and Queen Idun had entered, bringing with her her two year old daughter Crown Princess Elsa to play. His mother had been left impressed with the queen and claimed her to be a friendly, caring and down to earth mother with a way of making people feel comfortable around her, allowing them to forget that she was, in fact, their queen. All Jack knew was that in the years that had followed, half the girls born in Arendelle had been named Elsa with the trend only stopping after the birth of Princess Anna which had then inspired a series of Anna's to be born.

Growing up, Jack had not paid much attention to the rumours. He knew they existed and that many people had been left confused as to why the gates had been closed and the princesses had been pulled from public sight, but Jack didn't care. His own mother had simply written it off, saying that whilst she'd miss the chance to talk to queen Idun, she could understand the desire to keep the girls safe, and she still respected the royals both as parents and as her king and queen.

The sound of a loud rumble coming from his stomach caused Jack to snap out of his thoughts. Groaning, he flung open the portable cooler and reached in to grab his packed lunch and a bottle of water before making his way to a quieter, less populated section of the yard where he had spotted a lone bench, nestled amongst the trees.

…**.~X~...**

Elsa took a deep breath, revelling in the cool mid afternoon breeze. All around her she could hear the sounds of the workmen as they continued their work, diligently working to create the new pergola and benches that her father had requested.

She knew that all workers who entered the castle had to sign a confidentiality clause, binding them to keep any information from being relayed to those outside the gates and was also aware that they were given specific instructions to not address members of the royal family unless they had been spoken to first and to follow normal etiquette when speaking with one of the royals. Still, the presence of the strangers in her yard had left her unsettled.

There were two hours of the day when Elsa allowed herself to walk freely in the yard. The first was in the morning at 8am right before she started her studies. Elsa would use the time to stroll through the yard, getting some exercise and fresh air before retreating into her private study and tending to her schoolwork. The second time, was at 4pm where she would take a book and make her way down to her favourite bench, located amongst a section of shady trees where she would sit and read.

The rest of the time, Elsa spent indoors, cooped up in her room or study, working, or keeping out of the way of Anna. There were times, during her scheduled lunch period, where she would sit by the window, watching as Anna ran around the empty yard, singing and twirling around, blissfully unaware of the fact that her actions were being watched, bringing a small smile to Elsa who enjoyed the brief chance to see her sister happy.

Looking up, Elsa's eyes widened. She was so used to her afternoon resting spot being left secluded, hidden by the trees and bushes that surrounded it, that the sight of a stranger sitting on the bench startled her. Slowing down her pace, she allowed herself to glance over the man, noting that he was wearing a work shirt, claiming him to be a carpenter. From the look of him, he was young, a teenager like herself. His hair was a shock of silver- grey although she could see traces of brown roots which suggested that he dyed it.

Taking a step back, she relented, realising that she'd have to abandon all thoughts of sitting and reading in her favoured spot. However, the sound of a leaf crunching loudly under her foot caught the young man's attention and alerted him to her presence. Elsa gasped, watching as he raised his head, ignoring the iPhone in his hand and turned to face her, his blue eyes locking onto hers.

"Hi," he greeted. "I'm sorry, do you work here, am I in your…."

Elsa could feel her face heating up, watching as the innocent youth addressed her. Looking down, she caught sight of her plain blue jeans and light blue blouse, realising that due to the fact that no photographs of her and Anna had been made public for the last eight years, the boy was likely unaware he was currently talking to the crown princess and even less aware of the fact that she was cursed and capable of harming him and anyone else unfortunate enough to be in her presence.

With that in mind, Elsa did the only thing she could think of to do. She fled.

**A/ N- Hi everyone, so this is my next Jelsa challenge. It is a modern royal romance, a slight spin off from a song-lyric Jelsa one shot prompt I did in my 'Lyrics of the heart' series. The story features human Jack and Elsa, and as always there is the obvious AU element to it. I'm planning this to be quite a long story, the longest one yet and spanning a few years.**

**Thanks to my friend and fellow Jelsa fan fic author, Oninoko for her patience and assistance.**

**As always, Keep Calm and Ship Jelsa. **


	2. Chapter 2

Jack frowned, watching as the girl ran. She was young, if he were to guess he'd put her at being his age, maybe even younger. He'd only gotten a brief glimpse, but from what he could see she looked to be attractive with light blonde hair- a shade unlike anything he'd seen before which she'd tied into a neat ponytail. She'd been dressed in a simple pair of jeans with a blue blouse, somehow giving her a smart but casual look.

Her reaction to his presence had surprised him and he couldn't help but feel curious after seeing the way her eyes had widened in panic as he'd greeted her. He'd only wanted to know if she'd come to the bench seeking solitude, only for his presence to have disrupted her plans. If that was the case he would happily move and give her the privacy she'd been seeking, but she'd fled without even bothering to respond to his greeting. Ordinarily he'd have shrugged it off, chalking it down to the possibility that she suffered from some kind of illness or that her actions were altered by drugs or alcohol. However, the simple fact that they were on castle grounds led him to believe that mind-altering substances were not the case here, not with the strict screening that all castle employees and guests to the grounds had to go through. It was possible, he thought, that the girl could be a castle employee or the daughter of a castle employee.

Shaking his head, Jack pushed all thoughts of the weird interaction behind him as he directed his attention to the phone, stopping to read the text message from his mother that had just come through. A simple reminder that he'd agreed to care for his nine year old sister Emily which would enable their single mother to enjoy a rare night out with her work colleagues. He grinned, sending a text back to his mum, letting her know that he'd not forgotten and would be stopping to pick up some ice cream on the way home with plans to spend the evening curled up on the couch, stuffing his face and watching animated movies.

…**..~X~...**

Elsa could feel her heart racing as she walked through the castle. If it weren't for the fact that she was the crown princess and 'princesses did not run' then she'd have ran back to the safety of her room.

She could feel the eyes of the castle employees stealing glances at her as she made her way towards her room. Ignoring the looks, she kept her eyes focused ahead of her, her chin raised and shoulders pushed back, just like her father had taught her. She'd already acted poorly in front of the carpenter boy by turning and running like some scared girl. The last thing she needed was for word to get out that she'd dropped her composure in front of the regular castle employees.

She pushed open the door to her room, breathing a sigh of relief as the door closed behind her. Bending down, Elsa slipped her shoes off, placing them back in her closet before moving over to the large bay window, opening it slightly and sitting down on the cushioned bench. Picking up her book, she flipped through to where her bookmark was and pulled it to rest in her lap. She was determined to enjoy a bit of reading even if it had to be done inside and not outside under the fresh air like she'd originally planned.

However, it seemed that the carpenters were destined to continue to disrupt her planned relaxation as the sound of them working from down below travelled up and into her bedroom. Shaking her head, she tried to push the noise out of her head. It amazed her how she could live in a large castle with solid walls and yet the noise from the carpenter's tools and their loud, booming voices could still be heard in the distant. Although, she had to admit, it made a change from the usual sound of Anna's music which normally travelled down the hallway and infected the rooms with their cheesy lyrics and boyband melodies. That said, she'd eagerly take the cheesiest of boyband lyrics if it would help her relax.

Sighing, she closed her book. It seemed that no matter how hard she tried to ignore it, her mind kept wandering back to the interaction with the boy from earlier and she found herself analysing her behaviour and pulling apart the many mistakes she had made. She knew that the chances of the boy recognising her as a princess, let alone the crown princess was slim to none, if anything he'd likely assume her to be a castle employee, but it still didn't excuse the fact that she had acted inappropriately in front of him.

As the crown princess, Elsa, was expected to behave perfectly. She was the future queen of Arendelle, the daughter of the king and her behaviour reflected not only on her father, but her country. She had to be a model citizen at all times, displaying the intellect, poise, diplomacy and etiquette that had been drilled into her from an early age. Her future role as queen meant that she had to be a leader for her people, instilling a sense of confidence that she could lead their country and keep them safe and secure. It was a daunting role and she struggled to have faith in her ability to complete the job. It was bad enough that she was cursed, but she also had to live up to the impossibly high standards set by her parents who by all accounts were loved and respected by all.

Elsa knew that a large part of her parents appeal came down to their accessibility. They were comfortable talking with a wide range of people and seemingly knew exactly what to say to please everyone from the poorest member of their country to the reigning monarch of a foreign kingdom. Even Anna, with all her clumsiness, had a knack for words and the ability to make all who met her fall hopelessly in love with the fearless girl. Elsa only had to see her sister and parents at their weekly Sunday family lunch or hear the way the castle staff spoke, to know that the other three members of her family were all incredibly lovable and uncursed and she could never compare to them.

Elsa, however, was an imposter. Sure, she had the intellect and she knew how to handle herself if faced with other royals or even with the castle staff, but she lived a lie. She was merely an actress, going through the motions, sticking to an approved script all the while fearing that her deepest secret would be revealed. She was a monster.

Sighing, she looked down at her gloved hands, the source of all her pain. She couldn't help but wonder if she'd be a better daughter, a better crown princess, if she wasn't cursed.

…**.~X~...**

"Jack, no fair, you ate the last of the chocolate!" Emily shrieked, reaching over to toss a cushion at her older brother.

Jack laughed, skillfully dodging out the way of the cushion as he moved to collect the empty ice cream containers from the coffee table. "You know, Em-bear, most sisters would be nice and thank their older brother. Especially after he had spent his hard earned money to purchase two tubs of ice cream just so that his dear little sister could have a good night," he teased, winking at her. "Also, let us not forget that it's technically past your bedtime and yet I let you stay up to watch the Ice Age movies."

"Yeah, but we only watched the first two, Jack" Emily pointed out, as she followed Jack into the kitchen, placing their empty glasses on the sink. "Can we please watch the last two?"

"Afraid not, kiddo. You have to go to bed, Mum will be home soon and I don't want to get in trouble for letting you stay up late," Jack answered, turning and ushering Emily out of the room. "Now, go brush your teeth and get to bed."

"But I'm not tired and I don't want to brush my teeth," Emily whined, pouting.

Jack grinned, gently gripping his younger sister by her shoulders and pointing her in the direction of the small bathroom. "I don't care, I'm not getting in trouble with the tooth fairy and Mum for not making you brush your teeth," he stated. "Go."

"The tooth fairy isn't real, Jack," his sister teased.

"Maybe she is, maybe she isn't, it doesn't matter. Point is, that Mum _is_ real and if she comes home and finds you awake as well as all the ice cream gone, then I will be in _real_ trouble. You wouldn't want your favourite brother in trouble now would you, Em?" he asked, grinning down at his sister.

"Better you than me," Emily sassed, reaching to grab her toothbrush from the holder.

Jack poked his tongue out at her before turning and leaving her to brush her teeth, shaking his head at her cheekiness.

Yawning, he wandered down the hall and into his sister's room as he reached down to flick her bedside lamp on and pull the covers back, ready for her to climb into bed. His eyes fell on the small stuffed stuffed teddy bear he'd bought her the day their father had left, the day that had ripped their lives apart.

_Jack knew something was up when his mother had texted him and asked him to collect six year old Emily from her school for her. The entire day had seemed weird, from the way his parents had failed to look at each other in the morning and the way his mother had called in sick to work. Jack had shrugged it off, figuring his parents were having yet another fight. They'd been arguing a lot lately and for the most part it seemed the issue was his father's frequent late nights out and the fact that he was spending more and more time away from the Overland family home._

_Jack had grabbed Emily, taking her small hand in his as they walked the twenty minutes from her school to their home. The walk had been pleasant, with Emily happily discussing her plan to ask Santa Claus for a pink bike like the one her friend, Mia had. Jack had nodded, listening to her talk enthusiastically about the bike which apparently came equipped with streamers and a carry basket. He'd seen the bike in question earlier and knew exactly where Mia's parents had purchased it. Smiling, he'd made a mental note to pass the information on to his parents._

_The sounds of shouting reached their ears the instant they pulled onto the small cul-de-sac. Frowning, Jack had looked up, noting the familiar sight of his father's secretary as she stood leaning against his father's car, helping him load boxes into the car. Emily had dropped his hand, running to her father, her small voice questioning him, asking him if he was going on another business holiday._

_Jack had walked up the driveway, noting the way his mother was leaning against the front door, tears rolling down her face as she called her youngest child to her. It hadn't taken long for Jack to piece the information together. The way his father's secretary was standing, not bothering to give his mother eye contact and the way his father's hands were lingering a bit too long on the younger woman's hand as he passed over his belongings. His father was acting as if his wife and children weren't there, ignoring his six year old daughter whilst she cried for him, thrashing her arms against her mother when she moved in to scoop her into her arms._

_His maternal grandparents had arrived just in time to see Richard Overland hand his house keys to his wife, the mother of his children. He'd then taken a few steps back and knelt down, calling his son and daughter to him, wanting a hug._

_Angrily, Jack had refused and had shifted to stand in front of his mother and sister with his thin, fourteen year old arms holding them back. Emily had taken a few steps towards her father before pausing, turning to look at her mother and brother before scurrying to stand behind Jack, wrapping her small arms around his waist. Jack had looked down at her small frame, stared into her confused, tear stained eyes and felt something come over him. _

_Looking up, he'd stared at his father and told him to go, telling him that if he was planning on walking out on his family than he didn't deserve a goodbye hug. Richard Overland had stared at him, pain etched on his face, but Jack had stood firm. Blinking, Richard had backed away, calling to Caroline that he'd be in contact before turning and driving off. _

_Jack had remained frozen on the spot for a few minutes and watched as his father's car drove out of sight. A firm hand had appeared on his shoulder, tilting his head he'd found his grandfather staring at him._

"_Come, your grandmother has decided that she'll take charge of dinner tonight. She's given me a list. You can come help me at the store," he'd said._

_Jack had nodded, allowing his retired army colonel grandfather to steer him towards the car where they had driven in silence until they had reached the local supermarket. _

_Together, they had browsed the aisles with Jack watching whilst his grandfather pulled ingredients from the shelves and ticked them off of a list that his wife had handed to him. They had been just about to leave the store when Jack had noticed the small pink teddy bear sitting with the display of flowers. Wandering over, he'd picked the plush toy up, turning it over to find the price. As luck would have it, the toy was within his price range with the small bit of allowance he got for doing his chores enabling him to purchase the small bear._

Jack blinked, pushing the memory back to the depth of his mind. Three years had passed since his father had abandoned them in favour of his twenty-two year old secretary. That fateful day had changed Jack, he'd woken up as Jackson Overland, a boy from an ordinary family and had gone to bed as Jackson Frost, a young man determined to step up and take care of his family.

"Jack?" Emily cried, snapping Jack out of his thoughts. "Are you okay?"

Jack smiled, turning to face her. "Never better," he replied.

He watched as Emily climbed into bed, stifling a yawn as she lay against the pillows. "Jack," she called. "Have you seen the king and queen yet? Or the princesses?"

Jack shook his head, leaning down to pull the blankets up around his sister, carefully tucking her in. "Not yet, Emmy," he replied. "The only princess I've seen is called Emily and she's nine years old and is about to go to bed."

"Do you think that Princess Elsa and Princess Anna are pretty?" Emily yawned. "Or that they'd like me?"

Jack grinned, reaching down to press a kiss on her forehead. "I'm sure they are beautiful and yes, I think they'd love you, Em, you're perfect," he answered. "Now go to sleep."

Slowly he got to his feet, reaching over to switch Emily's lamp off, before making his way to the door.

"Jack" Emily murmured. "I love you."

He paused, standing in the doorframe, his hand resting on the doorknob as he turned to look at his sister. "I love you too, Em," he vowed.

Softly, he crept down the hall, stopping long enough to grab his laptop from his room before continuing down to the lounge room. He settled onto the couch, booting his computer up so he could scroll through his Facebook whilst he waited for his mum. It wasn't like her to stay out so late, but he didn't mind. She worked hard and rarely took any time to treat herself and he knew she deserved the chance to have fun.

…**.~X~...**

Elsa felt the familiar feeling of anxiety rising at the sound of the knock on her door. Every week it was the same, her father would tap on her door at 12:30pm on a Sunday in order to accompany her to lunch.

She lived an isolated life, closed off from not only the outside world, but the castle inhabitants as well. She was fortunate that her human interaction had been heavily restricted with only the briefest of contact. Every aspect of her life was carefully planned and set to a routine that would limit the risk of her harming others. Servants had been given the order to avoid Elsa unless under instruction and any messages that were to be passed to her were done so via email or intercom with only two staff members Kai and Gerda allowed to have prolonged face to face contact with her.

Over the years her father had continued to try and search for an answer to her condition. He'd dedicated what little spare time he had to searching online and making anonymous queries with leading scientists and medical practitioners, desperate to find a cure. As expected, nothing had come from it, the condition was unheard of and modern medicine's only suggestion was to send her in for testing, something which her father refused to do, claiming it was too much of a risk. Pabbie, the aging naturopath, had continued to remain the only one whom the family had trusted with news of her condition and even he was at a loss. The only hope they had for controlling her powers came in the form of a pair of gloves which her father presented to her, telling her that so long as she wore them and focused on concealing her powers and her feelings, that she should be fine.

"Elsa?" her father's disembodied voice called from beyond her door and snapping her from her thoughts. "Elsa, are you in there?"

"Coming, Papa," she called.

Opening the door, she found herself face to face with her father who broke into a smile. She offered him a small smile, curtsying slightly to show her respect before coming to stand at her full height and smoothing down her dress.

"Elsa, please," her father grinned, offering her his arm which she politely declined, not wanting to risk harming him. "You know the rules. On Sunday I am simply your father and you, my daughter. No need for the curtsy, not today."

Elsa blushed. "My apologies, Papa," she stated, falling into step beside him.

It was their family tradition. Every Sunday the family sat down to enjoy a meal in the small family dining room. Her parents claimed that it was important for them as a family to enjoy some sense of normalcy, given that their lives as royals was anything but normal. It was one of the rare times when the family could get together, just the four of them with the servants coming in only to serve their meal before leaving them in peace.

The routine was always the same, her father would stop to collect her from her room where they would make the walk through the halls together whilst Anna walked with their mother. After lunch they would swap and Elsa would walk back to her room with her mother, leaving Anna with their father.

"So, Elsa, the staff tell me that you did not get to enjoy your afternoon break on Friday," Agdar spoke, turning to look at her. "Care to tell me what happened?"

Elsa gulped, the idea of telling her father that she'd unwittingly met with an unknown tradesman, even by accident, was not a good idea. Her father would immediately question her, wanting to know if the boy had recognised her and if he'd followed correct behaviour. The question would also be raised as to how she had handled herself and she knew that even without the boy knowing she was royal, she had behaved inappropriately, bringing shame to her father. Besides, it was obviously an accident, the boy had appeared to be eating his lunch at the rather late time of 4pm.

She stole a glance at her father, noting the way his brow had furrowed as he waited for her answer. "Nothing happened," she lied. "It's just the sound of the carpenter's tools were too loud and I didn't feel that I could properly enjoy my music and reading so I decided to return to my room."

Taking a breath, she waited, hoping her father would accept her answer. She could feel the guilt overcome her, knowing that she had lied to her father, the king, adding yet another way in which she was a disappointment.

"Everything okay, Elsa?" her father asked. "I can't help but notice you seem a bit distracted."

Biting her lip, Elsa looked at him, noting the concern in his face. Shaking her head, she looked at him. "I'm just worried," she whispered. "About you know...my future. How can I fulfill my role when I'm a monster? I don't want to hurt anyone and I don't want to make any bad choices, I just don't think I can do it."

She felt her father's hand reach out to grip her arm, stopping her in her tracks. "Elsa," he began, stepping in front of her. "Listen to me. You are not a monster, please, do not call yourself that. You have a condition and we are doing our best to control it. I know, it is scary, not knowing how or why you came to be born with this...this...condition, but you are in no way, a monster."

Elsa sighed, bowing her head.

"Secondly," Agdar continued, reaching to place his hand under her chin, gently guiding her eyes to meet his. "I know, that you are in an unique position, it is something that can not be helped. You just happened to be our first born and trust me, I was just like you at one stage, just a crown prince, fearing my ability to rule. I know, better than anyone else, what it is like to be first in line for the throne. It's a daunting role, I'm not going to lie, but I have faith in you, in your abilities…"

"But my curse!" Elsa interrupted, blushing as she realised her rudeness. "Sorry, Papa, for interrupting."

Agdar chuckled. "Your curse, does not define you or your ability, Elsa. You are intelligent, well spoken, polite, educated and loving. Furthermore, when the time comes for you to take the crown, you will have advisers to help you in making decisions for Arendelle. You are full of love and our country is going to be in good hands, my dear."

Elsa nodded, blushing slightly when her father leaned in to press a kiss to her forehead. "Thank you, Papa, and again, I apologise for interrupting you before."

"That's okay, Elsa," Agdar beamed. "Now, come, lets go eat, we can't risk Anna eating all the food can we?"

Elsa giggled, offering her father a shy smile as she followed him into their small family dining room.

Her eyes fell on her mother and thirteen year old sister, both of whom stood to acknowledge her father's presence in the room. She turned, curtsying slightly to her mother before taking her seat opposite Anna.

"Hi, Elsa, Daddy," Anna chirped, flopping down in her seat.

Elsa raised her head. "Hello, Anna," she greeted, carefully taking her seat. 

Elsa watched as her sister's face lit up, her blue eyes sparkling as she twirled a strand of her strawberry blonde hair between her fingers. She studied her sister, taking in the denim shorts and One Direction t-shirt that her thirteen year old sister had opted to wear. It always amused Elsa to see her sister's clothing choice. As a rule, their Sunday lunches were relaxed and each member of the family could opt to wear whatever they chose, so long as it was somewhat presentable. Elsa, preferred to continue to dress nicely, sticking to dresses or skirts and blouses. Anna, on the other-hand took any excuse to rid herself of dresses and skirts and could be found in jeans, shorts and an assortment of singlet tops or t-shirts.

"Food's here!" Anna cheered, pointing her hand at the servants as they wheeled in a serving cart laden with a roast chicken, assortment of vegetables as well as pitchers of water and soft drink and glasses. "I can't wait, I'm starving."

Elsa stifled a giggle, watching as Anna bounced around on her seat, eagerly eyeing the food as it was placed in front of her. She shifted her attention to her father, watching as he stood to his feet, moving to serve himself before taking his wife's plate and filling it as she directed. After her parents had been served she stood up, carefully cutting a serving of chicken and placing it on her plate before taking a small selection of vegetables and covering them with a small dob of gravy. Sitting down, she daintily placed her napkin in her lap, bowing her head whilst she waited for her father to give his blessing.

"So, Elsa," Anna began, swallowing a lump of potato. "Have you decided to get a Facebook yet? You really should, it's really cool, we can be friends on there and also you can friend our cousin Princess Rapunzel, she's soooo nice, and she just got engaged to that guy who helped her, you know the one with the weird name…"

"Eugene," Idun broke in, smiling at Anna. "Rapunzel's fiance is named Eugene and it's not nice to refer to someone's name as weird, Anna, you know that."

"Oops, sorry, Mum," Anna babbled. "Anyway, Elsa, you really should get online more. You can get Facebook and I'll help you set up Tumblr and you're going to need to get on Twitter and You Tube and Snapchat and….."

Elsa shook her head, listening as her sister continued to enthusiastically list off the various social media sites that she should join. She knew Anna was active on a lot of them, having a secret account under the pseudonym of Anna Banana, her father's chosen nickname for her. It was a regular occurrence for Elsa, having to listen to Anna beg her to become more active on social media. It seemed that not a week could pass without Anna stopping to slide a note under her bedroom door, asking her to join the sites and add her as a friend. Elsa had so far refused, knowing that if she joined she'd either have to risk adding Anna as a friend and further confusing her when she could interact with her online but not offline or denying Anna's friend request and hurting her feelings even more. In the end Elsa had made the decision to rely purely on email and Skype for school purposes as her only means of online social activity.

"Elsa," Anna called, snapping her from her thoughts. "I'm going to watch a movie later, do you want to come and watch it too? It's a good movie, I've seen it before, it's really funny and I thought maybe we could grab some popcorn or chocolate and watch it together."

Raising her head, Elsa looked at her sister, noting the way her blue eyes were lit up. "I'm sorry, Anna," she apologised. "I can not hang out with you."

She watched as Anna's face fell and a small blush crept over her face. "Oh, that's okay," she replied glumly. "There's always next time."

Elsa nodded, offering her a bleak smile before returning her attention to her food. She could hear the sound of her father clearing his throat before he spoke, calling Anna's attention to him as he quizzed her on her schoolwork as well as the latest news from their cousin, Princess Rapunzel of Corona. Her mother's hand reached across the table, giving Elsa's arm a light squeeze. Elsa glanced up, watching as her mother nodded her head in Anna's direction whose voice had resumed to its normal optimistic tone as she filled their father in on all the important gossip.

Anna's optimism was singlehandedly both a blessing and a curse as far as Elsa was concerned. On the one hand it meant that the younger girl was always quick to bounce back, never dwelling on the constant knockbacks from Elsa. On the other hand it was like a further stab to the heart, knowing that she continued to break the heart of someone so warm and loving, who continued to display nothing but an unyielding love for the sister who routinely turned her down. She knew that she was blessed to have a sister like Anna, the girl was warm, loving, cheerful, caring, funny, sweet and just full of charisma making it impossible to not adore her.

There was many a time that Elsa wished she could simply tell Anna, to let her know that she loved her more than anything and that she would always do whatever it took to protect her. She'd spent countless hours trying to compose a message, one that she could pass on to Anna, to tell her that it was because of her desire and her duty as a big sister to keep her free from harm that they could not interact. In the end she'd given up, resigning herself to continuing to deny her sister, staying out of her sight as much as possible in the hopes that she wouldn't get her hopes up too much. She just prayed that in time Anna would come to understand her reasons. Elsa would always love her sister, she just couldn't be her friend.

…**.~X~...**

Jack leaned back on his chair, carefully studying his mother's features as she paced around the kitchen, the phone pressed to her ear as she giggled in response to the mystery caller

Something was different about her, he could tell. Something, or more importantly, someone, was causing her to act like a teenage girl. All weekend she'd been floating around the house with a wide smile on her face and jumping with excitement every time a text came through on her phone. He'd tried to coax it out of her, the mysterious texter, the reason for her happiness but she'd refused, telling him that there was nothing to tell, not yet anyway

She had stumbled home just before 1am on Saturday morning, apologising profusely when she found Jack curled on the couch, having stayed up to wait for her return. Jack had shrugged it off, telling her he didn't mind so long as she returned home safe and happy. She'd smiled at him, pressing a kiss to his forehead before making her way upstairs to check on Emily before retreating to her room for the night.

"Jack" Emily's voice called, distracting him from his thoughts. "Who is Mum talking to?"

Jack grinned, turning to look at his sister. "Not sure, Em-bear, but I'm going to find out," he vowed, winking at her. "Mark my words, I shall find out."

He waited whilst his mum stopped her pacing and had hung the phone up and placed it back on the receiver. Smirking, he got to his feet, turning to pick Emily up and scowling as he realised his baby sister was starting to grow up, making it harder for him to pick her up.

"So, who is he?" he asked, leading Emily into the kitchen to face their mother.

"Just a friend, Jackson," Caroline replied, stopping to press a kiss to Emily's head. "A new friend."

"A friend that you hope turns into more than a friend?" Jack coaxed, turning to follow his mother as she left the room.

He watched as his mother stopped in her tracks, letting out a loud exhale before she turned to face him. "His name is Edward, he is 48 and a widower. He works at the library near my work and is friends with Sandra from work," she replied. "We had a nice evening and he called to ask if I'd like to meet up for lunch during the week."

Jack felt Emily's hand grip his as she moved to stand beside him. Grinning, he leaned down, to loudly whisper in her ear. "Mum has a boyfriend," he teased.

He watched as his sister's brown eyes widened, a wide smile appearing on her face as she turned to study their mother. "Mummy?" she asked

"No, not a new boyfriend, sweetheart," Caroline declared, leaning down to brush a strand of her daughter's brown hair from her face. "Mum has met someone who she seems to share some similar interests with and she's going to share a lunch with him. That is all, no boyfriend, just a new friend."

"The blush on your face suggests otherwise, Mum," Jack smirked. "Also, the way you've been prancing around the house all weekend."

Jack reached down, ruffling Emily's hair, pulling her back to his side as they stood watching their mother, her face flushed with embarrassment.

"Jackson!" Caroline cried. "Tread carefully my son, remember, if you dare to embarrass me now, I will make a point to humiliate you even more when the time comes for you to bring a girlfriend home."

"Jack will never get a girlfriend!" Emily scoffed, stepping out of his grasp. "No girl in her right mind would want to kiss his stinky breath."

…**~X~...**

Taking a deep breath, Elsa stepped out the door, ignoring the sound of the carpenters as they continued their work.

She had hoped that they would have finished earlier today, given that it was their second day on the premises and had reasoned that their late finish on Friday had been due to the time they'd lost going through the castle security screening and behaviour expectations. Sadly it seemed she'd been wrong and the carpenters continued to work during her afternoon yard time.

She glanced at the title on a nearby work van, making a mental note to check out the website later, wondering if long hours were common for the company or whether they were simply putting in extra effort due to the fact that they were currently working for their king. She watched as the men made their way around the grounds and couldn't help but notice that they at least appeared to be a friendly, albeit loud group with their booming voices carrying across the grounds.

Her eyes fell on a petite woman of Asian heritage as she stood amongst a small group of men, chirping orders to them. Pausing, Elsa stopped to stare, watching as the woman who appeared to be in her early to mid twenties stopped and raised her head to catch Elsa's gaze. She could feel her breath hitch as the woman continued to look at her, her face breaking into a warm smile. Elsa blushed, turning her head in the hopes that the woman would not dare try and approach her. To her relief she didn't, instead she shifted her attention to a large, well built man, standing on her tippy-toes as she proceeded to direct her orders to him.

"That's what happens when you let your wife get a job as the secretary of your workplace," a loud voice chuckled. "She gets paid to boss you around at work and then goes home where she does it for free."

Elsa turned her attention, noting as two carpenters walked past her, ignoring her as they nodded in the direction of the petite woman.

"Yeah, but Bunny likes it doesn't he?" the other man said. "You know what he's like, he pretends to be gruff but he's a big teddy bear for Tia."

"Nah, Sandy, I think it's more the fact that he knows Tia can kick his ass if he misbehaves," the first man chuckled. "We all know that Bunny has the brawn, but Tia, she's the little powerhouse. You don't wanna go getting on her bad side, she may look all dainty and sweet, but I'm telling you, that girl excelled in Taekwondo and Karate, she's a tough one."

Elsa grinned, turning her head back in the direction of the apparent husband-wife team, noting the way the woman had stopped talking long enough to press a quick kiss to the lips of the taller man. Blushing, Elsa continued on her way. She'd always found a certain level of embarrassment when faced with displays of affection, something she'd chalked down to the fact that romance and love was not something she'd ever experience.

She knew that as part of her role of crown princess she would be expected to marry and produce an heir to the throne. Whilst they lived in a modern world, there were still traditions that as a royal, she had to uphold. Fortunately, the engagement of Rapunzel to the reformed thief Eugene Fitzherbert had broken a barrier and her father had been inspired enough to approach her, telling her that should she ever meet someone whom she truly loved, he would be willing to allow them to ask for her hand, so long as the person in question passed his test.

Elsa sighed, recalling the look on her father's face when she'd told him that it wouldn't be necessary. No man in their right mind would willingly love Elsa, not if they knew about her curse. She'd already resigned herself to the fact that she would be forced to marry for political reasons like her ancestors had before her. The only benefit she had was that modern medicine meant she could at least be impregnated, enabling her to carry an heir without having to get physically close to the poor man who was forced to marry her.

…**.~X~...**

Jack sat down, carefully laying his lunch out on the bench.

Once again he'd found himself working well past his scheduled lunch break. The king had actually made the point to come into the yard, eager to inspect the start of the pergola which he'd ordered. As luck would have it, he'd chosen to do so right when Jack was due to grab his lunch and Jack had wanted the chance to meet the king. 

Naturally, his mate Aster had found out and had told his wife Tia, who worked as Mr Moon's secretary. Tia had then driven to the castle, claiming the need to take progress photo's for their boss. Once on the grounds she had zeroed in on Jack, using the fact that she and her husband were six years older than Jack to order him to take his lunch break before she'd focused her attention on snapping the pictures.

Still, it hadn't been too bad. Jack had managed to shake King Agdar's hand, somehow remembering his behaviour and bowing in front of the king. He was looking forward to telling his mum and Emily about his experience. He knew Emily was keen to hear about the princesses, but he hoped that meeting the king would suffice, after all, he was the father of the princesses and the closest that the Frost children were likely to get to the mysterious Arendelle princesses.

Lifting his sandwich to his mouth, he was just about to take a bite when the sound of leaves crunching startled him. Groaning, he put the food down, turning to find himself face to face with the young girl from Friday. He blushed as his eyes glanced over her pale features and her light blonde hair.

"Oh, hi," he greeted, raising his hand. "We keep meeting like this, am I in your sea….."

His voice trailed off, watching as the girl let out a small squeak, raising her hand to her mouth as she stared at him..

"No, no, please, I don't..I won't" he began, watching as she fled.

"Hurt you" he finished, letting out a loud sigh.

He shook his head, picking up his abandoned sandwich. He couldn't help feeling curious about the mysterious girl and wondered if he'd see her again, or if she'd at least allow him to carry out a conversation with her without fleeing in a panic.

**A/Note- Thank you all for your time spent reading and reviewing. I just want to clarify something from my previous A/Note. It seems I didn't express myself the best way *blushes***

**When I said this story will span a couple of years I meant that it would span a few years of Jack and Elsa's life- at the moment Jack is 17 and Elsa is 16 and I intend for this story to finish when they are in their early/ mid twenties.**

**As for how long it takes me to finish this story- I intend to follow the same method that I have with my other stories and get out at least one chapter a week.**

**As always keep calm and ship Jelsa. **


	3. Chapter 3

Elsa felt like her heart was going to burst through her ribcage with the speed at which it was racing.

Keeping her eyes focused on the distance, she willed herself to move faster, picking up her pace until she was moving at a brisk walk, doing her best to shut out the curious stares that she was getting from the carpenters as she moved past them.

Reaching her hand up she swatted at her iPod headphones, removing them from their place in her ears. She'd hoped that the music would calm her down and distract her, but it hadn't and her emotions had started to get out of control. She could already feel the familiar sensation of ice as it begun to build up in her fingertips to slowly seep through her gloves. At the rate she was going, it wouldn't be long before her curse presented itself. She just hoped that she could manage to get as far away as possible from another human being as possible.

"Hello there," a cheery voice called.

Elsa turned her head, her eyes resting on the young woman from earlier, Tia, the other men had called her. She could see a wide smile on the woman's face as she hopped from foot to foot.

"Uh," Elsa stammered, picking up her pace as she brushed past the girl. "Sorry."

She didn't want to look back and face the girl who would surely be staring at her, judging her as rude or strange at the very least. After all, most people would stop to offer a polite greeting if spoken to and the girl, much like the boy from the bench, had greeted her with a happy, non-threatening tone.

She sighed, it was bad enough when she'd behaved terribly for a crown princess in front of just one of the townsfolk and now she had gone and added a second person to the mix. How she could expect those same two people to show her respect and trust was beyond her. Surely when it came to be they discovered she was their future queen, they would turn their noses up with disgust, not wanting to trust a rude freak like herself with decisions regarding their livelihood.

Elsa didn't stop moving until she'd reached the furthest corner of the castle grounds, near the stables. Glancing around, she could see the grounds were empty. The staff that tended to the horses had already left for the day, leaving her alone with only the majestic animals.

Sitting down, she looked at the stables and listened to the sounds of the horses as they whinnied. Memories of her childhood spent sitting in her father's arms whilst he rode his horse Mozart came flooding back. As a child, she had loved spending time with the horses and had been due to get her own special horse when the incident with Anna had occurred and had left her fearing for the lives of all living creatures who came close to her and she'd declined the opportunity.

Shaking her head, she redirected her attention to her gloved hands where the ice had built up in her fingertips before it had melted. Slowly, she removed her gloves and shook the residue from her hands before pulling her handkerchief from her pocket and drying her dampened fingertips.

Once again she had managed to prove herself to be a failure. Not only had she continued to behave rudely, but she had also allowed her emotions to control her and had completely disregarded the 'Conceal, don't feel' mantra that her father had taught her. The only small positive was that she had been smart enough to not risk returning to the castle. After all, if word got out to her father that she had cut short her outdoor time yet again it would only serve to give him more reason to be ashamed of her.

She knew that her father swore to her that he had faith in her ability to rule Arendelle. He'd told her many times that he believed in her, but she still could not shake the feeling that he was lying. Elsa had seen the little looks he'd shared with her mother when she raised the issue, the way they would share a grim smile, before one of them stepped in to talk to her, to appease her. Curse aside, there was the fact that she suffered from terrible anxiety and depression and there were many times Elsa wished she could simply bury herself under the blankets and remain in bed for all day, shunning all her responsibilities. Such ailments were not appropriate and certainly not conducive for a monarch.

Elsa sighed, it was time she faced facts. She was a mess, a cursed mess, burdened by her birthright and destined to go down in history as the worst queen the world had ever known.

…**~X~...**

Jack shrugged, watching as the girl from Friday fled from him.

Once again he had tried to greet her and to show her that he meant no harm. He was certain that his tone of voice had been pleasant and that his body language had appeared welcoming. If they were anywhere else but the castle grounds, than he'd think her behaviour was somewhat justified. There were a lot of strangers in this world and sure, it did pay to be alert to the possibility of danger. Still, Jack had just been through a rather thorough security check in order to be allowed to enter the castle grounds, something the girl would have had to go through herself at one point and he'd hoped that the simple fact that he was allowed within the castle walls would at least provide some reassurance to the girl that he was deemed safe.

"Oi, Frosty, what you doing all the way out here? You trying to hide from us," a loud voice called.

Grinning, Jack looked up, taking in the amused expression on his friend and colleague's face. "Not 'us', just you, Aster," he teased. "You finally escape the wifey?"

He shuffled over to make room so that Aster could join him on the bench.

"Yeah, finally," Aster joked. "Tia decided she'd had enough fun bossing me around here and figured that she ought to go take the photo's that Ol' Moony sent her to take. What's going on with you though? You look deep in thought"

Jack turned to look at his friend, rolling his eyes as the older male swiped a potato chip from the opened packet. He wondered if Aster had seen the mysterious girl, maybe even had a similar experience but wasn't sure how to approach the subject. On the one hand, it would give him the chance to find out if the girl had behaved similarly around others, but on the flipside there was also the possibility that his mate would get the wrong idea and think that Jack's interest in the girl was more than just concern. In the end he decided to just ask his friend, resigning himself to dealing with any teasing that may come from it.

"Say, Bunny, have you seen a girl? Thin with light blonde hair, looks to be my age, maybe a little bit younger" he asked, taking a deep breath. "It's just, I've seen her the last two days. Both days she's come to this bench, looked at me and when I've gone to speak to her she's freaked out, almost like she's scared and ran."

He watched as Aster looked at him, stroking his chin in concentration before a wide grin crossed his face. "Nah, mate, can't say I have," he replied. "Although, surely you're used to girls running from you now, Frosty."

Jack groaned, flipping his middle finger up in response to the playful dig.

"Forget I asked," he grunted, grabbing his empty food wrappers and shoving them back into his lunch box.

"Jack," Aster called. "Seriously, mate, I've not seen any girl who matches your description, but I wouldn't worry about it. You may not even see her again, and if you do, all you can do is continue to be polite. It's up to her how she chooses to respond."

…**..~X~...**

Elsa could feel her heart rate settling as she made her way across the grounds.

Her morning had been long and stressful. Starting with the math test she'd taken during her first lesson and ending with the oral report on Arendelle's trade history that she'd had to present via Skype call to her tutor. The test wasn't so bad and she was lucky in that she'd studied hard and had a knack for maths, so was certain she'd receive a good grade. The oral report, however, was a completely different experience.

For some reason her father insisted on either him or her mother being present for all oral reports. He claimed that it served not only to test her knowledge, but also as practise for the speeches which she'd be expected to complete as queen. The simple act of having to present her speech to her tutor was bad enough, but throw in the pressure of her father and it was even more terrifying with both people judging her in one way or another and due to remind her of her many shortcomings.

As expected, her father had been filled with false praise. Once the report was finished he'd risen from his chair and turned to address her tutor, seeking permission to speak with his daughter privately before ending the call. Once her tutor's face had disappeared from view, he'd turned to face her, placing his hands on her shoulder and telling her that she'd done a brilliant job in her research, managing to find information that eve he hadn't known. His only criticism had been the amount of times she'd had needed to look down at her notes and had suggested she'd need to work on memorising her speeches a bit better for the future. Elsa had smiled, giving him a polite nod of thanks before watching him turn to leave and letting out a loud sigh. It was alright for her father, she'd seen his speeches, he was a natural in front of the crowds and could easily command attention from a crowd even without the title of king.

Shaking her head, Elsa pushed the thoughts out of her head. She was free for the day, her only time to enjoy herself before being rushed through the evening routine of dinner, homework and bathing. She could dwell on her mistakes later, but now, she had a bench which would hopefully be empty to sit on and a chapter of her book which she was determined to get through.

…**~X~...**

Jack glanced at his watch, it was just gone 4pm and he was once again seated on the bench, hoping that the mystery girl would return and maybe even grant him the smallest of conversation.

He'd spoken to Sandy, the on-site supervisor earlier and he had been happy to allow Jack a later lunch period and hadn't asked for a reason. Naturally, Bunny had caught wind of the request, his oversized ears perking up when Jack downed his tools and had waved Jack off with a smirk, apparently convinced that Jack's interest in the girl was more than that of just desire to reassure her that she was safe in his presence.

The pace at which his heart was racing had surprised him. Something about this girl had him feeling nervous and he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Sure, from the minor glimpse that he'd gotten of her he could tell she was attractive, but that wasn't what unsettled him. It was the fear he'd seen in her, the fear of him.

Jack was well aware of the fact that there were men out there who hurt women and as an older brother and a son, it was something that constantly played on his mind, the idea that someone could potentially seek to harm his mother or sister, whether physically, emotionally or psychologically terrified him. The mere thought that this young girl, the castle employee, could possibly be fearful of him had troubled him and he felt like he could not continue to go home and look his mother and sister in the eye knowing that there was a girl out there that was apparently scared of him.

That was why he'd decided to try and have a quick word with her. After all, for a short time they would both be calling the castle their worksite and he wanted to make it known to this girl that he would not ever be a threat to her safety. If she chose to eventually speak to him and they could hold a discussion, then great, but if not, he'd accept that. He just couldn't continue to work on the site knowing that another person was frightened by him.

The sound of footsteps broke Jack from his thoughts. Slowly, he raised his head and turned to face the girl, noting her blonde hair had been left down today and was framing her pale face. Once again she appeared to be lost in her own thoughts.

"Hi," he spoke and flashed a warm smile. "I was hoping to….."

He watched as the girl's eyes widened and she took a step back before turning and fleeing in the opposite direction, narrowly avoiding bumping into Aster who stood with an amused expression on his face.

"Should have worn deodorant, Frost," he teased, nodding his head in the direction of the girl.

"Oh shut it, rabbit," Jack snapped. "Not in the mood for your jokes."

He slumped back on the bench. He felt bad for snapping at Bunny, the guy was a good mate and he knew that despite all the teasing, the 23 year old male did genuinely care for him. It was just the fact that once again the girl had fled, leaving Jack to face the prospect that he was the reason for a girl's unease.

"Mate, for what it's worth I don't think it's you that's the problem," Aster said, placing his hand on Jack's shoulder. "I was speaking with Tia last night and she said she nearly bumped into a girl with light blonde hair who fled when she tried to speak to her and you know Tia, she can get anyone talking."

Jack cocked his head, turning to look at his friend as he mulled over the comment. If his mysterious fleeing girl and Tia's girl were the same then it would surely mean that Bunny was right, it wasn't him that was the problem, especially if she'd fled from Tia who had a knack for making people feel at ease with her.

He felt a small smile slowly creep onto his face as the information sunk in. The idea that he may not be causing the girl's fear brought a small sense of relief to him. Although, he found that afraid of him or not, he was now intrigued by the girl.

…**..~X~...**

Taking a deep breath, Elsa stepped out of the door, slowly making her way across the grounds towards her bench.

She'd spent most of Tuesday night ignoring her studies whilst her mind wandered over the attempted interactions the young carpenter boy had tried to have with her. She knew by now that he'd surely think her not only rude, but strange for continuing to ignore his polite greetings. Her three meetings with him, coupled with the fact that she had fled from the petite Asian woman was disgraceful behaviour and highly inappropriate for anyone, let alone the crown princess.

That was why she had decided to put an end to it, to face her fear and approach the youth. She could no longer continue to run from this problem, to do so would not only make it a habit, but also, there was always the risk that someone, most likely the boy, would make note of it and word would get back to her father. She just hoped that she could express to him that it was not him that was the problem without raising any further questions.

Elsa had taken the initiative to slip on an extra pair of gloves underneath her regular gloves, hoping that the double protection would help keep her curse controlled long enough to hold a basic discussion with the boy. The thought of harming him weighed heavily on her mind, reminding her that she would have to keep their conversation brief and straight to the point. She didn't want to get into a long or lengthy chat, she simply wished to apologise, hoping that he'd not be so bold as to ask for a reason behind her strange behaviour.

Keeping her head up, she made her way towards the boy. She could see him checking his watch, pausing only to brush a hand through his silver-grey hair and wondered if it was possible he was waiting for her.

Taking a deep breath, she slowed down to a halt, coming to rest a few feet from the youth. Clearing her throat, she watched as he looked up from his watch, turning to face her.

"Hello," she spoke, wringing her hands nervously.

She noted the way his eyes widened as he turned to face her before travelling over her frame, taking her in as if disbelieving that she was there. His mouth dropped into a lopsided grin as he once again brushed a hand through his tousled hair, allowing her to catch a brief glimpse of the brown re-growth that appeared at the roots.

"Uh hi," he greeted, getting to his feet and moving towards her, his hand outstretched.

Gulping, Elsa took a step back, fighting the urge to flee. She knew that normal etiquette was to either offer her hand out to so that the male could press a soft kiss to the back of it or to shake hands, but that was too risky. Instead she stood on her spot, watching as the boy sat down and wiped his hands on his work pants.

"Sorry," he apologised, blushing. "I forgot I have carpenter's hands. I did wash them prior to getting my lunch, but they are a bit rough, can't blame you for not wanting to shake hands."

Elsa let out a small laugh, raising her gloved hand to cover her mouth. "That's okay," she said. "I actually came here to apologise to you."

"T..to.. me?" the boy stammered, cocking his head. "Why?"

"For my behaviour over the last few days," she explained. "I have been incredibly rude, fleeing from you when you've attempted to greet me and I apologise. I've behaved atrociously and there really is no excuse other than I'm not used to seeing someone else here, it's kind of a secluded spot which is why I like it."

"I was wondering if I had stolen your private spot," the boy said. "Sorry about that, my name's Jack, by the way."

Elsa nodded, taking a small step closer. "Elsa," she said. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Jack."

She watched as Jack swallowed a sip of water before grinning at her. "Nice to meet you, Elsa, so, do you work here?" he asked, gesturing towards the castle.

"You could say that," Elsa chuckled, her eyes glancing in the direction of the castle.

"Are you on a break from work?" Jack continued, gazing at her. "If so, would you like me to move from your spot? I do apologise, I tried to call to you. I was starting to worry that my being here was scaring you. I'm glad you came to speak to me, I mean, I can assure you that I mean no harm and if I did scare you, then please, accept my apology because it's not my intention at all."

Elsa blushed, turning her face slightly as the boy, Jack, continued to gaze at her. There was an honesty in his tone and he had displayed basic good manners. Admittedly, some of his mannerisms were not appropriate for interaction with a member of the royal family, much less the crown princess, but he was also clearly unaware of her status, apparently having pinned her down as a castle employee.

"That's okay," she chuckled, pausing to take a breath before continuing. "You didn't scare me, and again, I apologise for making you feel like you had. I'm just a bit shy so seeing you here sort of gave me a bit of a shock, but I'll get used to it."

She watched as Jack leaned back on the bench, running a hand through his hair as if contemplating his response. He had just opened his mouth to speak when the sound of a phone ringing cut through the silence. His eyes flicked to meet hers before he took the call, holding his hand up and mouthing an apology before getting to his feet and walking away.

Elsa waited for Jack to look back at her before raising her hand and giving him a small wave farewell.

Walking away she couldn't help but smile. The boy, Jack, intrigued her. She'd not had the opportunity to interact with many boys her age. Her parents had initially wished her to consider taking up correspondence with some of the sons of foreign rulers or dignitaries but she'd declined, stating that she felt it far too risky and didn't wish to put herself in the position where she could potentially reveal her secret. Fortunately, her parents had accepted her reason and she'd not had to tell them the truth and that she'd actually checked out the websites of neighbouring monarchies and dignitaries but had found them for the most part unappealing. All of the princes around her age seemed far more concerned with their status and boasting about their accomplishments for her liking.

Jack, however, seemed different. Not only was he the first boy that she'd interacted with face to face for a long time, but he also appeared to be down to earth and apparently respectful. Despite the awkwardness of their interaction, she couldn't help but wonder if Jack was someone with whom she could share another conversation, maybe even delve into discovering more about him and his interests.

…**~X~...**

Hanging up the phone, Jack sighed, reaching to make a note on his phone of the groceries his mum wanted him to collect for her.

He'd hoped that Elsa would have stuck around, maybe spoken to him a bit more, but she'd disappeared from sight, possibly to give him privacy whilst he answered the call from his mum.

He'd been surprised when she had spoken, even more so when she'd gone on to to apologise to him for being rude. Admittedly, he'd not stopped to consider that her behaviour was rude, a little bit strange perhaps, but not rude. He'd noted the way she'd wrung her gloved hands during their conversation, stopping only to wrap her arms around her small body and it seemed to him that she was quite shy and possibly suffered from a small degree of social anxiety which could explain why she'd taken her time to approach him

Still, she had approached him and it had given him a chance to not only speak to her, but to look at her in greater detail and couldn't deny that she was simply gorgeous. Her eyes were a lighter shade of blue than his own, her hair looked soft, almost silky and appeared to be naturally light. Her skin was pale and free from blemishes, aside from the faint trace of freckles which dotted her cheeks and nose, something he'd not have noticed if it wasn't for the fact that the blush which had graced her cheeks highlighted them.

Their conversation had only been brief and filled with a slight awkwardness, but Jack was intrigued. The few minutes they had spent talking had done nothing to dampen his curiosity, in fact, he was now even more interested. There was something about her, asides from the fact that she was clearly gorgeous and intelligent, he couldn't help but feel like she was lonely and could use a friend.

Smirking, he packed up the remainder of his lunch, placing the container under his arms as he made his way back to the worksite. Glancing back at the bench, he silently willed Elsa to return to greet him the following day.


	4. Chapter 4

Slowly, Elsa lowered herself into the large bathtub as the warm bubble-filled water settled around her. Her eyes flicked to the scented candles that she'd placed around her en suite and the small iPod dock that was currently pumping out her favourite relaxation playlist.

Ordinarily, Elsa wasn't one for such long, luxurious soaks, she preferred other, more productive, forms of relaxation, however, after the minor milestone that she had achieved only hours earlier she had decided that a little 'pointless' luxury was allowed.

She'd been on a high for the last four hours, ever since she had walked away from her conversation with the carpenter boy, Jack. For anyone else, speaking to a mere youth who had been employed to work on one's home may seem trivial. However, Elsa knew her situation was considerably different and for her it _was _a big deal.

It still seemed surreal to her, that she had actually fronted up to her fears and had pushed the anxiety aside long enough to speak to the boy and it had been exhilarating. She had maintained a conversation with a stranger for an entire fifteen minutes and not only had she managed to not shoot ice out of her palms like a freak, but she'd also rectified the issue of her rudeness and it had given her hope.

For the first time in days, Elsa felt like she had things could get better. She'd been scared to speak to the boy...to Jack and yet she had and both parties had parted on good terms. The satisfaction she had gotten from her achievement was so strong that even the small slither of doubt that the boy had simply spoken nicely to appease her, hadn't been able to squash her mood. Now, more than ever she found that she wanted to seek the boy out again, to speak to him and to further challenge herself.

…**.~X~...**

Jack poked his head out the door, checking that no overly curious nine year old girls were lurking around before shutting it. Breathing a sigh of relief, he crossed the room to take a seat at his small desk and shifted the laptop so that the web camera picked up his image.

"Let me guess, that was Miss Nine?" Aster's voice questioned, staring at Jack from the screen of his laptop.

Jack rolled his eyes and nodded. "Yeah, Bunny," he groaned. "Sorry about that. I tried telling her that I was only Skyping you but she got excited and wanted to talk to Tia and well, you know as well as I do that once my sister and your wife start talking, that nothing can stop them."

"I heard that, Jack!" shrieked Tia as she brushed past Bunny, stopping long enough to poke her tongue out at the camera.

"Sorry, Tia," Jack apologised. "It's just, it still baffles me how a 23 year old woman and my nine year old sister can manage to have so much in common that you can ta….."

"Jack," Bunny broke in. "Tia's gone, you can shut up now. She's gone to watch her show, although I can tell you that it's a special female trait, the ability to speak for a long time on any number of topics….well at least it's a trait of my wife's."

Jack chuckled. "Not just your wife it seems, my mum has it too. She's been on the phone all evening, ever since we finished dinner and you know what? She's speaking to Sandra who she works with..I mean they will see each other tomorrow! They work side by side, why do they need to talk on the phone for well over an hour simply because my mum decided to go to lunch with some guy who she met through Sandra?!" he exclaimed.

"Jack, I hate to point it out but you are being kind of hypocritical here, I mean _we _work together and will see each other tomorrow and yet we're still here on Skype, talking," Bunny pointed out, raising his eyebrow.

"Yeah but that's different, Buns," Jack said. "For starters, we work with power tools and are spread all over the yard. Mum and Sandra work in a salon and most of the time are side by side…."

"Yeah, but, Jack, they also have to work with customers and I don't know..don't hairdressers have to wash hair and use hair dryers and stuff? Plus it would be rude of them to talk to each other whilst they have a customer, I mean Tia's always going in to the salon to get her hair streaked and she says that her hairdresser and her are always talking about stuff," Bunny added. "Besides, lets hear more about your mum's date."

"Let's not talk about the date," Jack grumbled. "Besides, she won't tell me anything other than his name is Edward, he's 48 and that he works as a librarian."

"Aww, what the matter, Frosty? Don't you want to know if your mum's going to see him again? Maybe even get some 'lovin'?" Bunny teased.

"Can you not?" Jack snapped. " I really don't need to think about that, she's my mum for crying out loud!"

He watched as Bunny leaned back in his seat and pushed a hand through his thick brown hair whilst he considered his answer before leaning in. "Well, think of it this way, he's a librarian which means he's probably boring and won't break her heart," Bunny added. "Now what was it you wanted to tell me?"

Jack sighed and tried to push the image of his mother and her potential new romance out of his head. Taking a deep breath, he spoke.

"Well, it's about that girl, the castle girl," he said, pausing to wait for Bunny to acknowledge that he remembered their previous talk before continuing. "I saw her again, only this time she didn't run and we kind of talked….."

"Wait, you talked to her? The girl that ran from you the other day?" Bunny asked. "Did she tell you why she ran the other days or why she ran from Tia?"

"Woah, slow down, Bunny, I can only answer one at a time," Jack chuckled, holding his hands up in appeasement. "Yes, I spoke to her, well actually she approached me. She wanted to apologise for running from me and for ignoring me. I actually think she's shy, as in seriously shy, Buns, I mean I kept noticing the way she was holding her hands and either fiddling with them or wrapping them around her body. Also, I was right, she does work at the castle and I even got her name."

"And?" Bunny questioned, waving his hand to beckon Jack to continue. "Are you going to tell me her name?"

Jack grinned, "Elsa, her name is Elsa."

"Wait, isn't the king's daughter also called Elsa? The older one, as in our future queen?" Bunny asked before reaching to take a swig of his drink.

Jack frowned. "Yeah, but she's young, Bunny, she's younger than me and from what mum said, the birth of the princess inspired a rush of baby girls who were all called Elsa. I mean in my old school alone you were guaranteed that if you put a group of 40 girls in a room and called out 'Elsa' that at least 8 girls would respond to the name, that's how popular the name was."

"True….so do you think you'll see her again?" Bunny asked.

Jack pinched the bridge of his nose whilst he considered the question. He knew that he would like to talk to the girl...to Elsa again, however he also knew that he had to be careful in how he answered the question. If he showed too much eagerness or interest then Bunny would think he fancied her and if it came out that Jack had found her attractive, he would never hear the end of it.

"I'm not sure, mate," he replied, taking a pause in what he hoped would appear nonchalant. "That said, if she were to seek me out again, then I'd be happy to talk to her, I mean I am pretty awesome and you have to give the people what they want," he smirked.

"And this is where I bid you farewell, Frost," Bunny teased. "Not only do I not want to listen to your overly inflated ego, but also, I need to go help Tia in the kitchen. I'll see you tomorrow, mate."

Jack nodded, offering his friend a small salute before clicking the button to end the call. Whilst it was true, he didn't know for sure if the girl...Elsa, would return to the bench tomorrow or if she'd be willing to continue to carry on their awkward conversation that they had shared only hours before, but if she did, he'd be willing, after all, Jack Frost was raised to be polite, _especially_ to pretty girls.

…**..~X~...**

Elsa felt the cool breeze hit her as she made her way across the grounds to her bench.

She'd managed to escape for her afternoon yard time a bit earlier today, namely due to the fact that Anna had been laid up in bed all day with a head-cold and had been granted the day off from her studies to rest.

However, as Elsa had discovered, Anna's definition of 'rest' was more along the lines of 'Find Elsa's email address thanks to an email that had been forwarded to all family members and proceed to send her a half dozen messages'. She had logged on to check her mail over lunch and had discovered a number of emails, all coming from her sister and all begging her to reconsider her views on joining social media sites or to visit her in her room as well as links to pictures and video's that Anna found amusing. Elsa had watched the video's and had composed one very polite and straight to the point email thanking her sister for thinking of her before apologising for the fact that she could not visit her or join the websites she'd suggested.

A small part of her couldn't help but feel that her actions were bordering on hypocritical. After all, she'd spent her last break period denying her own sister's wishes to see her, to speak with her, and yet here she was strolling across the yard in the hopes that she would be able to engage in a conversation with a virtual stranger and what's more, _if _anything untoward were to happen and her curse _was _to reveal itself, then she'd be in even worse trouble with the carpenter who would be less willing to forgive her misdeeds than her sister who, despite all her flaws, still loved her.

Shaking her head, Elsa forced herself to think positive. She couldn't allow her fear to overrule her, not when she'd gone to the trouble to wear a second pair of gloves once more, in order to feel safe. Besides, she wasn't actually _seeking out _the carpenter boy...Jack, it was just that she had managed to grab herself some extra yard time which would enable her to get to her bench earlier and _if _he happened to turn up again, then she would happily chat with him.

Taking a deep breath, Elsa pushed through the clearing to find her favourite bench. She wasn't surprised to find it empty, there was still fifteen minutes to go until it hit 4pm and from what she could gather the boy, Jack, took his break on the hour. Sighing, she took a seat on the bench and opened her book, taking care to shuffle over to the furthest corner to create room for anyone else who may wish to join her.

She'd only managed to get through one chapter when the sound of leaves crunching under heavy footsteps interrupted her. Looking up, she found herself face to face with the boy.

"Hi, Elsa," he said, flashing her a cheery grin. "Mind if I take a seat?"

Blushing, she shook her head. "Hello….J-Jack," she stammered and pointed to the free space beside her. "Please, sit down."

She could feel her heart pounding as he took a seat, noting the way he plonked himself down and left a small gap between himself and the end of the bench. Normal royal etiquette would see him taking another seat, but there were no other benches around and she was reluctant to reveal her true identity to him for the time being which meant that she could not, in all fairness, ask him to sit on the ground simply to appease her mild discomfort at being so close to someone with whom she wasn't familiar with. If she wanted to withhold who she truly was, then she would have to try to approach their interactions like a commoner would.

"I hope my eating won't bother you," Jack said, pulling out a sandwich and unwrapping it. "I'm starving. That said, I can reassure you that it's only a boring ol' chicken and cheese sandwich, no smelly tuna or peanut butter here."

"No, you're fine," she said, smiling. "Please, eat your lunch. I'm sure you've been working hard and have built up a hunger."

Jack swallowed and wiped a few crumbs from his mouth." Right, yeah it's not so much that it's hard work, but it is quite physical so you do work up a bit of an appetite," he pointed out. "What about you? Normally I get my break before you, did they give you an early minute?"

"Oh, yeah, I'm early because my si…" she paused, realising that she'd very nearly mentioned her sister being sick which could lead to questions she wasn't ready to answer yet.

"My situation allowed for it today. Someone else was sick and so I was able to get through my work in time to negotiate a longer break," she finished, wringing her hands as she continued to steal glances at Jack, waiting to see if he'd accept her response.

To her relief, he seemed to buy her story and simply nodded before finishing the last of his sandwich.

"So, interesting book?" he asked and gestured to the Jodi Picoult book that she'd brought out with her. 

"Quite," Elsa replied. "I love her books. I have almost all of them. I love the way she can tell a story and have you questioning yourself, your morals and how you view things. It's like I can read one of her books and it stays with me for hours after I've finished it…"

Elsa paused, watching as Jack continued to gaze at her with a wide smile on his face. Blushing, she pushed a strand of hair off of her face. "I'm sorry, I must be boring you," she apologised

"Not at all," Jack replied, smiling at her. "It's just, my mum is also a fan of hers and she says the exact same thing that you did, about the morals and the questions that the author raises. I've read a few of her books, not as many as my mum has, but I've read a few."

Elsa nodded. "Do..do you read?" she asked, blushing slightly when she realised how the question must sound. "Again, I'm sorry, I mean, what do you do for fun?"

Beside her Jack let out a low chuckle. "No, you're definitely not boring me. I do like to read, it's just an issue of not having the time. I'm so busy with work and when I get home I have to help around the house, you know? It's just Mum, my sister and I so I like to do what I can to help out, but for fun..well, I'm kind of boring I mean I like hanging with my mates, going for drives or just chilling with my sister."

Elsa continued to look at him. How was it that his one answer had left her with so many questions? She knew it wasn't polite to be nosy, least not with someone whom you barely know, but she couldn't help it. In the short time they had talked Jack had managed to capture her curiosity and she found herself wanting to know more; What was his family like? Were they nice? And his friends as well, was he one of those people who had a large group of friends? Or did he prefer to keep himself to a small, select group? She'd noticed that he'd mentioned it was only his mum, sister and himself which left her curious about his home life. What had happened to his father ? Was he still alive? Had the parents separated? Where did he live?

She heard a soft cough and blushed, realising that she'd been lost in her own nosy thoughts. Racking her mind, she tried to come up with something to say that would encourage more conversation and show her interest in learning more about Jack without appearing overly nosy. She'd not failed to notice the way his voice had softened and his blue eyes had sparkled slightly at the mention of his sister, which led her to believe they were close and she wondered whether asking about her may be a good way to further engage him and possibly satisfy her nosiness.

"Y- you have a sister?" she asked, taking a deep breath.

…**~X~...**

Jack grinned.

He'd not failed to notice the way Elsa had seemingly gone quiet after he'd responded to her previous question and had wondered if he had bored her. He knew that for a lot of girls, the idea of a 17 year old guy in today's modern world who found enjoyment in simply hanging with his mother and kid sister was a deal- breaker and conjured images of a 'Mama's- boy'. For a split second he'd feared that he'd lost Elsa's interest and that she was about to find a way to politely excuse herself, but she hadn't.

"Uh yeah, yeah I do," he replied, running a hand over the back of his neck. "Her name is Emily and she's nine years old. She's a cheeky little terror, but she's _my _cheeky terror and for some reason we've always been close, despite the age gap. I think it was because for so long I begged my parents for a younger sister or brother to play with, so when Emmy was born I was just over-the-moon excited and yeah I kind of dote on her which is really dorky, I know I mean a 17 year old guy who would rather hang with his sister and watch movies instead of going to parties or whatever, but yeah, it's just me, sorry."

He stole a glance at Elsa, breathing a sigh of relief when noticed that she didn't appear to be turned off by his answer and had broken into a smile.

"She sounds lovely, Jack," she began, softly. "I..I..have a sister, she's younger as well, only three years difference though. She's 13 and I love her a lot. I..I don't get to see a lot of her, but I love her and I..I'd do anything to keep her safe, to protect her."

Jack nodded. He hadn't failed to notice the way Elsa's eyes had lit up briefly at the mention of her sister before she'd bowed her head and the hint of sadness and regret had sounded in her tone. A part him wanted to ask her to elaborate and he wondered how it had come to be that she didn't see her sister often, but he decided to not press the issue for fear of upsetting her.

"So, do you want to hear two short jokes and a long joke?" he asked, flashing her a grin.

"Uh, sure," Elsa said. "I mean, go for it."

"Joke, joke and joooooke," he said, winking at her.

He watched as Elsa's brows furrowed in confusion as she took in his answer.

"Get it, joke and joke are the two 'short' jokes and then jooooke is…"

"Aha, I get it," Elsa burst in, chuckling slightly. "That's...that's really bad, I'm sorry, it's just..my dad, he tells those sort of jokes."

Jack winked at her. "Oh if it's 'dad jokes you're after, than allow me," he smirked.

"What do you call a fake noodle?" he asked and waited for her to look at him. "An impasta"

"What do you call cheese that isn't yours? Nacho cheese!"

He watched as a wide grin appeared on Elsa's face before she burst into loud, joyous laughter. A few seconds later, she'd recovered and had taken to hiding her smile behind her gloved hand.

"Jack!" she exclaimed. "Those are most certainly dad jokes. I'm surprised you didn't tell me the one about a horse walking into a bar and the barman asking 'Why the long face?'"

"Give me time, Elsa, I can't use all my tricks on you on our second chat, I need to keep some allure to me so that you want to come talk to me some more," he teased. "I mean, give a guy a break here!"

"Y..you w..want me to keep t..talking to you?" Elsa stammered and bowed her head.

"Well, yeah," he responded before brushing a hand through his hair."I mean, I like talking to you and if you want to keep talking to me, then I'm happy to listen and to tell you all the dodgy jokes and puns that I have in my repertoire."

He could feel his cheeks heating up and mentally cursed himself. In the matter of mere minutes he'd managed to undo any chance of 'playing it cool' in front of her.

"Oi, Frosty," a loud voice called. "Quit ya flirtin' and get your lame ass back to work."

Jack groaned, raising his head to glare at Bunny as he came to a rest in front of him. Beside him, he noticed Elsa stiffen slightly and he silently willed Bunny to not say or do anything that was likely to cause her to run again.

"Hi," Bunny greeted, extending a hand to shake Elsa's. "My name is Aster, Aster Bunnymund but most people call me Bunny."

Jack glanced at Bunny's outstretched hand and shook his head. "Bunny, perhaps you could offer your hand to shake when it's not covered in sawdust," he suggested.

"Right," Bunny grinned, withdrawing his hand.

Beside him, Jack noticed the way Elsa turned to give him a grateful smile and nodded. He really couldn't blame her for not wanting to shake his or Bunny's filthy carpenter's hands. The gloves that she seemed fond of wearing looked to be expensive and knowing Bunny, he'd have likely not stopped to wash his hands before approaching them.

"So, you going to introduce me to your friend before I drag you away or am I going to have to coax it out of you?" Bunny asked, nodding his head at Elsa.

"Oh, right, Bunny, this is Elsa and Elsa, this overgrown Kangaroo is Bunny," Jack smirked. "He's already told you why we call him Bunny, but the Kangaroo thing comes from the fact that he was born in Australia."

"And Bunny because of the surname?" Elsa quizzed.

Jack nodded. "Yep, so if you see him around the place then please, feel free to use all your rabbit jokes on him, he loves it," he teased.

"Alright, alright, much as I'd hate to break up your attempts to recruit more people to tease me, we really do have to get back to work, Frost" Bunny interjected and turned to face Elsa. "Sorry, Elsa, but work is calling, although was nice to meet you."

Groaning, Jack got to his feet, hastily packing up his lunch box and tucking it under his arms before he turned to Elsa. "Sorry, Elsa, I really have to get back to work, although it's been a pleasure and yeah, if you want to come talk to me again tomorrow, then that would be great," he added.

He watched as Elsa slowly stood up and smoothed her pants down before she turned to face him with a shy smile on her face. "I'd..I'd like that, Jack," she added. "It was nice to see you again."

Grinning, Jack watched as she turned to leave before turning to face Bunny.

"So," Bunny teased, slinging his arm around Jack's shoulder. "She seems nice, bit on the quiet side, but nice."

"She is," Jack agreed and shuffled out of Bunny's grip. "I know you're going to say it, so just spit it out and get it over and done with."

"You like her," Bunny stated. "I was so right, you like her, little Jackie has a crush."

Jack let out an exasperated sigh before turning to playfully push his mate. "I never said I have a crush on her," he declared. "Although I do admit that yes, I like her as a person."

"You also never said you didn't have a crush on her either," Bunny pointed out. "Although, I'll be nice and won't push you….just invite me to the wedding won't you?"

Jack groaned at him and turned to poke his tongue out.

"One question though, what's with the gloves?" Bunny asked.

Jack paused. He had to admit that he'd wondered about the gloves as well. From what he could see they appeared to be more of an accessory than serving any purpose such as warmth. They were also in good condition, which led him to believe that Elsa wasn't required to wear them for her particular job. Shrugging, he made a mental note to ask her about them when he saw her next.

…**..~X~...**

Elsa sighed and closed down her laptop.

She'd been bent over her desk for the last three hours working on her homework. Somehow, something that should have taken her a little over an hour to do, had taken her almost twice as long which she had attributed to Jack.

Ever since she'd returned from their talk, he'd been on her mind. Not only had she successfully managed to hold a conversation with him once again, but she'd found herself starting to relax with him as well. There was something about him and the way he seemed to sense the change in her tone when the subject of Anna had come up and had instantly changed the subject with his lame jokes. Not to mention the way he'd glanced at her when his friend had come bounding up and had offered his hand out to her. She'd felt the sense of panic at the thought of shaking hands with the well-meaning man, but Jack had simply glanced at her before interrupting and convincing his friend to withdraw his hand.

Suddenly, she had faith that she could learn to control her curse, which gave her faith that she could, in time, re-connect with Anna without the fear of harming her. Not only that, but if she could hang out with her sister, then she might be able to extend her friendship circle and finally discover what it felt like to have a friend.

The sound of a knock on her door distracted her and she felt her breath get caught in her throat.

"Your Highness?" Gerda's voice called out.

Breathing a sigh of relief, she got up and moved to open the door. She waited for Gerda to curtsy to her before nodding.

"Your Highness, " Gerda continued. "Your father has requested you meet with him in his office promptly."

Elsa nodded. "I shall be right down. Thank you, Gerda." she stated.

Taking a deep breath, she stepped out of her room, pulling the door closed behind her. The relief she had felt upon discovering that it wasn't Anna had disappeared, only to be replaced with a panic which only intensified as she walked towards her father's study.

A million questions formed in her mind. Her father only chose to speak to her in her study when it was official royal business and even then, he kept their discussions to within a 9am to 6pm time frame. The fact that he wanted to speak to her on what would appear to be a royal subject at 8pm was alarming. She couldn't help fear that word had gotten out about her interaction with Jack. She hadn't thought it could be possible, not many castle employee's tended to go near the clearing where the bench was located and the gardener only worked in the early hours of the morning, which ruled out the possibility that he had spied her talking with Jack.

Raising her hand, she rapped on the door and waited for her father's servant Kai to open the door before bowing and inviting her in.

Stepping into the study, her eyes fell on her father and mother who were sitting around her father's large desk with John, her father's adviser standing beside them.

Slowly, she dipped to a curtsy before raising herself. "You wanted to speak to me, Papa?" she asked.

"Yes, Elsa, please take a seat," her father added, pointing to a lone chair on the opposite side of the desk.

Gulping, Elsa moved to lower herself into the chair. After fixing her posture, she turned to face her father.

"Elsa, we have a bit of a situation, my dear, one which sadly involves you and Anna," her father spoke. "You see, it would appear that our decision to keep you and your sister safe by hiding you from the public over the last eight years has angered some. Whilst we knew at the time that there would be those who wouldn't understand and sadly, the rumours were always going to exist, we had hoped that as the years went on, that people would lose interest in."

Wringing her hands, Elsa continued to listen whilst her father and his adviser took turns to inform her of the news. Letting her know that a man with whom her kingdom had traded with in the past had approached the media a little under two hours ago to call on the Arendelle royals to reveal the truth about her and Anna. Apparently, this man was convinced that they were hiding something and it appeared that he hoped by applying pressure via the media, that the secret, her secret, would be revealed.

"Now, Elsa," her father spoke. "I don't want you or Anna to worry about this. We _will _handle it and you girls will be safe. John and I have already begun working on a media release which we hope will deflect from the situation. I do suggest that you take anything that you may hear or see online or on the news over the next few days with a grain of salt though, the Duke, he's always been a bit 'uppity' and I can assure you that we will get through this. We just wanted to let you know first, now please, go back to what you were doing and try not to worry."

"Thank you, Papa, Mama," Elsa whispered.

Slowly, she got to her feet and let herself out of the study.

She'd only just managed to return to her room when the curse had presented itself, bursting through her gloves as it covered the walls and ceiling, turning her bedroom into a walk in freezer. Cursing, she pulled the ruined gloves off of her hand and sunk to the floor.

Somehow, in a mere forty-five minutes all the hope she'd held for being able to beat the curse and the possibility of enjoying even the slightest bit of a normal life had been dashed. All thanks to an old man known only as the Duke of Weselton. 


	5. Chapter 5

Elsa sighed and willed herself to change direction.

She'd foolishly allowed herself to get carried away. A few incident-free conversations with a commoner had led her to believe that she could be normal. However, the news of the Duke of Weselton approaching the media a week ago had brought her back to reality.

A week had passed since the foreigner had approached the media. In that time, her father and his advisor had done their best to deter the Duke. All attempts to reason with him had proven unsuccessful. Their first call had ended when the man had refused to budge and had told them that, unless they had something to hide, that they had no real reason to not come forward with news about the princesses. He'd then stated that he was only asking out of concern for the Arendelle royals.

Her father had taken to stopping by her room on a nightly basis, where he would fill her in on any progress that had been made. Thus far, the progress had been slim with both parties at loggerheads. The one positive had been that only a select few media outlets from the Duke's own region of Weselton and the Southern Isles, had picked up the story. Arendelle's media had yet to pick the story up, with news from the royal PR team saying that the majority of citizens had remained blissfully unaware of the Duke's behaviour. As such, the royal advisors, had insisted that the family refrain from releasing a formal statement on their website, citing that there was still a chance they could solve the issue without it reaching the citizens.

"Hey, Elsa, why so serious?" a loud voice called.

Elsa raised her head and groaned. She'd been so lost in thought that she had failed in her vow to stay away from the bench. Now, she had no choice. Jack had seen her, and it would be rude of her to blow him off again, especially given their first few meetings. She'd tried to tell herself to avoid the bench. She knew it was dangerous of her to go to him, especially since she'd discovered that her gloves were not exactly foolproof against her curse. However, she'd been unable to stop herself. Something continued to draw her towards the bench.

"Elsa?" Jack called. "Are you there?"

Shaking her head, she forced a smile onto her face and headed towards Jack. "Sorry, I was lost in my own world," she apologised. "How are you?"

She watched as a wide smile crossed Jack's face. "Yeah, I kind of noticed. I'm good, tired, but still good. How are you?"

"I'm well," she replied, taking a seat on the bench. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to appear serious."

Beside her, she heard Jack let out a soft chuckle.

"What?" she asked. "What's so funny?"

"Why so serious," Jack began and shifted to look at her. "It's a quote. From the movie 'The Dark Knight'. The character of the 'Joker' says it. It's a pretty famous line."

"Oh," she blushed. "I'm sorry. I've not seen that movie, what is it about?"

"It's a Batman movie," Jack explained. "Was one of the last roles that Heath Ledger did before he passed away. I'm sorry, I'm a bit of a movie buff. I forget that not everyone has seen the same movies as I have."

She could feel her cheeks heating up. Turning her head, she nodded at Jack's half eaten sandwich. "So, what do you have today?" she asked. "I mean, I know it's not Tuna or Peanut Butter, you've already made your feelings on both of those toppings well known."

"Roast beef," Jack said, picking it up. "I hope you don't mind if I finish it off. I'm starving here. I've been sleeping late and have missed breakfast for the last few days."

She shook her head. "No, go ahead," she urged. "I don't mind. Why have you been sleeping late?"

Jack took a bite of his sandwich before swallowing. He wiped the crumbs from his mouth and looked at her. "Personal business, Elsa," he joked.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she apologised, mentally scolding herself for being so bold. "I didn't mean to intrude."

Chuckling, Jack reached out to lightly nudge her. She felt herself stiffen and noted how Jack was quick to retract his hand. "You didn't intrude, Elsa," he stated. "If you must know, I've been getting back into reading. I am currently making my way through one of Tom Clancy's books and am finding it hard to put down."

Elsa nodded and fixed her attention on the trees in the distance. She let out a sigh as a silence fell between them.

…**~X~...**

Jack frowned.

The sound of Elsa letting out yet another sigh concerned him. For the last week she had made the noise on an increasingly frequent basis. He'd also noticed that she had been wringing her hands a lot more than she normally did, which suggested to him that something was troubling her.

"Elsa," he began and turned to look at her. "Are you sure you're okay?"

He watched as Elsa's eyes widened. Gulping, she turned to look at him. "I..I'm fine, Jack," she stammered. "Really."

He snorted. She wasn't okay, that much was obvious to him. Every day for the last week she'd appeared to be distracted. Something was clearly on her mind. However, when asked, she would simply fix a smile to her face and tell him that she was 'fine'. He may have believed her, if it wasn't for the fact that the smile she'd plaster on her face never reached her eyes.

"Elsa," he began. "You do know, that if you ever want to talk about anything, I'm here."

He heard Elsa take in a deep breath. "Jack, I appreciate your concern, however, I can assure you that I'm fine. It's just work and family issues, but we're working on it," she said.

Raising his eyebrow, he looked at her. If they were better friends he'd call her bluff. However, their relationship was still new and he knew better than to push Elsa too far. She was still cautious in his presence. She continued to speak with careful consideration, which led him to believe that there was things she didn't feel ready to share at this point in time. If he wanted them to become friends, then he had to ensure that she felt secure with him.

"Fair enough," he said. "The offer stands though, you know where and when to find me."

He turned to smile at her and noted the way she pursed her lips as she settled back against the bench. A silence fell between them again, and he wondered if he'd pushed her too far. He'd noticed that she tended to clam up when the topic turned to her family and employment. Work, he reasoned, was likely due to the confidentiality clause she would have had to sign prior to commencing her job. It was likely that she feared she would say too much, and risk breaking the agreement, which could land her in trouble. He couldn't quite understand her silence on her family, especially, given her interest in his own, however, it wasn't his place to push her.

"Hey, Elsa," he started. "What's brown and sticky?"

"Oh…" Elsa paused. "I don't know, Jack, what is 'brown and sticky'?"

"A stick!" he exclaimed and turned to grin at her

He heard Elsa let out a soft groan. "That, that was bad, Jack," she said. "I swear, your jokes are getting even worse."

"My sister liked it!" he protested. "I told it to her last night whilst we were cooking dinner."

"Your sister is nine," Elsa pointed out.

"She has good taste though," Jack reasoned. "Besides, she likes all of my jokes. She appreciates the effort I go through to entertain her. Unlike some people I know," he finished and poked his tongue out.

He watched as Elsa placed her hand over her heart and sighed. "Jack, I'm hurt," she teased. "I thought that I was the only one who heard your jokes."

"You are, Elsa. It's just that I need to do quality control. Like I said, I use all my best ones on you, but in order to know they are good enough, I need to test them out. That, is where my sister comes in," he stated.

"Oh, I see. When you put it _that _way, then I guess I really have no reason to be jealous," Elsa sassed.

"None at all, Elsa. You know that you're my favourite person to tell bad jokes to," he said, winking at her.

"Oh," Elsa exclaimed and paused for a while. "So, what did you and your sister make for dinner?"

"Spaghetti and Meatballs, it's kind of our specialty," he replied. "We cook a few meals together. It's a good way to spend time with each other and to help Mum out."

"I'm sure that your mum appreciates it," Elsa said and smiled at him.

"Yeah…" he mused. "Do you cook?"

He heard Elsa let out a slight giggle. Grinning, he turned to watch as she covered her mouth with her gloved hand.

"No, I don't," she replied, blushing slightly.

His eyes fell on his watch and he frowned. Slowly, he stretched out his legs, before getting to his feet. "Elsa, much as I love spending time with you, I have to go." he explained. "My break is over, and I'm afraid if I stay here with you much longer that they'll send Bunny to round me up. He gets far too much pleasure in bossing me around as it is. I don't really want to give him yet another reason."

"That's okay, Jack," Elsa said and got to her feet. "I have to get back to reality as well. I guess, I'll see you tomorrow."

"You can count on it," he replied, shooting her a lopsided grin. "I promise that I'll come armed with more jokes."

He watched as a slight blush crept across Elsa's pale cheeks and she smiled at him, before turning to move towards the castle. Sighing, he turned and headed off in the opposite direction. Their hour together always seemed to go by so fast. He didn't know if he'd helped distract her from whatever was troubling her. However, he had waved her off with a genuine smile on her face, and that was equally as satisfying to him.

…**..~X~...**

Elsa sighed and shook her head.

Taking a deep breath, she stepped out into the yard and headed for the bench. She'd spent most of last night analysing her behaviour, trying to find a reason for her inability to stay away from him. She'd tried to come up with a logical reason for why she continued to disregard the risk and her own sensibilities in order to talk to him. Yet, despite her intelligence, the answer wasn't one that could be reached through problem solving. Her solution had come when she'd listened to the little voice inside of her, the one that she'd tried to ignore in favour of logic. She valued Jack's presence in her life.

She could no longer deny the fact that she enjoyed their brief time together.

Her life was lonely, stressful and filled with crippling self-doubt. However, when she was with Jack she couldn't help but feel slightly less isolated. He made her feel happier, positive and somewhat normal. He'd never treated her with anything less than respect and had never pushed her to reveal too much of herself, or questioned her on her many quirks. She'd also noticed the way he seemed to sense when she was not comfortable with something and would immediately change the subject. Despite the fact that they had only been talking for twelve days, she had come to appreciate their conversations, finding it to be one of the few bright spots in her bleak, mundane life.

Looking up, she focused her eyes on the bench in the distance and frowned. It was a few minutes past 4pm, yet he was nowhere to be found. One of the first things she'd learned about Jack was that he was almost always punctual. Therefore, his current absence was troubling. She picked up her pace and crossed the last few steps towards their meeting spot.

Her eyes fell on a novel sitting on the bench with a piece of notepaper slipped between the pages. Leaning down, she picked up the book and pulled out the piece of paper, her eyes falling on the handwritten message.

"_Elsa,  
>My apologies for not being here. I was at work, however, I got a call from Emmy's school just before 2pm. There was an accident, Emily was playing on the monkey bars during gym class and fell. The teachers suspect that she's broken her arm and they weren't able to reach mum, so they called me. I'm really sorry, I wanted to be here to talk with you, but duty calls. <em>

_The book, is one that mum told me to lend to you. She just finished reading it and really enjoyed it. She said to take your time with it. Again, I'm really sorry that I couldn't tell you in person. I did consider going to the castle, but I only know your first name, which isn't helpful, especially not when the crown princess is also called Elsa. Could you imagine how embarrassing that would be? If I handed this book to another castle employee and they accidentally handed it to the actual princess? Poor girl would be so confused! Either that or she'd think I was some kind of weirdo and send the guards after me. Anyway, I'm going way off topic. I left the book with Bunny and asked him to leave it on the bench just before 4pm. I told him to check back in at 4:30pm, just in case you couldn't make it. He's assured me that he won't read the note, but to be honest, he probably already has, in which case he's a nosy- rabbit and if he's not careful I will make rabbit- stew out of him. _

_Sorry to leave you in the lurch. I'll see you on Monday ~~~ Jack_

_PS- What do you call spending the day with a cranky rabbit? A bad hare day! _

Elsa sighed and settled down on the bench. She pulled the book to her lap and flipped it open. She couldn't help, but feel worried for his sister. She knew that Jack doted on her, and the fact that she'd been hurt would have worried him. A part of her couldn't help but feel touched that he'd still taken the time to write a note to explain his absence to her. She knew that he would have been worried, yet he'd shown consideration for her and had even left her with one of his jokes.

Shaking her head, she pulled the note up and re-read it. Her smile faltered when she reached the part where Jack had innocently mentioned her and the crown princess, blissfully unaware that they were the same person. She could feel the familiar pang of guilt hit her. He was a good person, and she was lying to him in more than one way. She couldn't help but worry that he may ask for her surname for future reference. There was no way that she could give him her real family name without him piecing it together and figuring out her secret. It was going to be bad enough when he discovered that she wasn't an employee like he'd assumed. She didn't want to imagine the reaction that would occur when he learned who she truly was.

It was selfish of her, but she knew what would happen. He would immediately lose composure and would want to follow royal protocol. Their easy-going conversations would stop and he'd no longer see her for who she was. The instant he discovered her identity was the moment that he'd start treating her differently. It would be when she'd cease to be Elsa to him, and would become Crown Princess Elsa.

…**~X~...**

Jack took a seat on the hard hospital chair and buried his head in his hands. His mind was a jumble of emotions. All the adrenaline from the last two and a half hours had subsided, and it was only now that he'd stopped to rest that the exhaustion had hit him.

Getting the call from Emily's school had startled him. The staff member who had rung, had explained that Emily had been playing on the monkey bars during her gym period and had fallen. She'd gone on to say that they had tried to contact his mother at work and on her mobile and had had no luck, her phone had apparently been switched off, which had left them with no choice but to call Jack. He'd reassured the school that he would be there, and had asked them to pass the message on to his sister that he'd be there soon, before he'd hung the phone up and raced to excuse himself from work.

Fortunately, his supervisor had been understanding and had granted him the time off to tend to his sister. After packing up his gear, he had scribbled a note to be left for Elsa and had raced to Emily's school. He'd arrived in time to find the school nurse examining his sister and had listened whilst she informed him that she believed it to be a broken arm. He'd then signed his sister out and thanked the staff, before leading her to his car and heading for the nearest hospital.

Once they reached the hospital he'd tried ringing his mum again. Her mobile had remained off, but he'd been able to reach her at work. He'd wanted to quiz her, to find out why she had switched her phone off, but he'd ignored it and had focused his attention on informing her of their current whereabouts. To his relief, she had been quick to act and had left work, arriving at the hospital just in time to follow them into the x-ray room.

"Jack," Caroline called, coming to stand in front of him. "I never got to thank you for collecting Emily."

Jack shook his head and looked up at his mum. "I had no choice, they couldn't reach you. Why was your phone off?" he asked.

"I..I was out for lunch with my new friend, Edward," she explained. "I had the phone off so that I could give him my full attention."

"As opposed to your daughter?" Jack snapped.

"Jackson!" Caroline warned. "Watch your tone please."

Jack sighed. His eyes fell on his sister who was sitting patiently whilst the doctor checked on the cast as it dried. "I'm sorry, Mum," he apologised. "It just, it worried me. Getting the call from her school. You didn't see her face when I picked her up, she was trying so hard to be brave."

He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see his mum smiling down at him. "I know, Jack. You've always been so protective of her. I am truly sorry. It's just, I really like Edward. He makes me feel things I've not felt for some time, and I am hoping that in time, he may ask me on a date. At the moment we're talking and taking it slowly, however, I can't deny that I'd like to see if there is a chance for us," she said.

Jack felt his face softening. He'd not meant to snap at his mother like he had. She had been lonely for the last few years, and sacrificed a lot for him and his sister. He really couldn't begrudge her the right to enjoy a little bit of happiness.

"I know," he murmured. "I hope that things do work out well for you. Although, you do realise that if you do date this guy, then he will need to pass mine and Emmy's test. We can't have you dating just anyone, Mum, you deserve someone great."

"Mummy!" Emily called. "Come here please."

Caroline frowned, pausing on the spot as she looked between her two children. "Go," Jack urged. "You know how bossy she can get."

He watched as his mum made her way over to his sister's side and let out a loud sigh. Slowly, he extended his legs in front of him and looked around. His eyes fell on a paper that had been left lying on a nearby table. Leaning forward, he grabbed the paper and pulled it to him.

His eyes widened as he took in the headline. It wasn't unusual to see articles about the royal family in the paper. The majority of pieces centred around the latest developments that the king had agreed to, or news of any public appearances by the king and queen. The Arendelle media had always remained positive in regards to the royals. Which was why, it surprised Jack, to see the kingdom's most popular paper displaying an article that appeared less than positive.

He skimmed over the story and rolled his eyes. It appeared to be completely ludicrous to him. A Duke from a place that he'd never heard of had stepped forward to claim that King Agdar and Queen Idun were hiding something from the people of Arendelle. Scoffing, he continued to read. The entire article was nothing more than crazy, bordering on insulting with the guy putting forward a number of bizarre suggestions. He even claimed that the princesses didn't exist.

Folding the paper, he placed it back on the table and stood up. He had no idea who the Duke of Weselton was, nor where he came from, but the guy was clearly out of line. The royals were welcome to their privacy, and they had already explained their reason for withholding the princesses from the public years ago. Jack knew, that princesses existed, he'd seen photo's of them from when they were younger, and as a three year old, he'd even attended a few playgroups with the eldest princess, Elsa. He didn't know if he necessarily agreed with the decision to withdraw the girls from the public eye, but he respected his king and queen, and the rights that they had to make the decision. After all, at the end of the day, they were simply parents who were trying to do what they felt was best for their children, not that indifferent to what his own mother did for him and Emily. As far as he was concerned, there was only one conclusion, the Duke was clearly nothing more than a crazy guy looking to stir up some trouble.


	6. Chapter 6

Taking a deep breath, Elsa continued on her path towards her father's study. Keeping her head raised and her eyes focused straight ahead, she did her best to ignore the stares of the employees who passed her by. She knew that she had their attention. She heard the hushed whispers that started up the moment her and her assistant, Gerda, passed them by. She knew that all eyes were on her, judging her.

She couldn't blame the staff for their curiosity. Six days had passed since the Duke of Weselton's claims had reached the Arendelle media. In that time, the entire castle had been thrown into turmoil.

Her father's adviser, John, had believed that aside from the one paper, the Arendelle media would remain disinterested in the claims that the Duke had put forward. However, he had been wrong. The news of Weselton's accusations had made it to a few more papers and had since been covered by local television stations. To make matters worse, the story had also been picked up by neighbouring nations. The castle had yet to release a formal statement in response to the claims. Her father had claimed that he needed time to figure out the best course of action.

It was the castle's silence that seemed to have added to the intrigue. Slowly, but surely, the castle had found itself under increased surveillance as the media began to intrude on the perimeters, in their quest for answers. The public relations staff had expressed that there had been increased calls for statements and interviews over the past few days. The calls had reportedly been coming from both local and international sources. As the days wore on, the pressure had been extended to the staff as well. Many employees had claimed to have been accosted by reporters while trying to get to work, or by curious friends who had read the reports and found themselves suddenly filled with questions.

"It's lovely to see you, Your Highness," a lone voice called out. "The media doesn't know what they are -"

Elsa paused and turned to face the older woman, who had addressed her. Gulping, she found herself filled with a sense of anxiety. She knew that the majority of staff had been told to not address her unless absolutely necessary. However, it didn't help her case when faced with someone, who had seemingly forgotten the rules.

"Margaret," snapped Gerda as she turned to address the woman. "How long have you been working here?"

"T..Three years, Ma'am," Margaret stammered.

"And what are the rules about addressing the royal family?" Gerda asked, raising her eyebrow as she stared at the offending woman.

"We are not to address the royal family unless directly spoken to, or under extenuating circumstances," she replied.

"Correct," Gerda said. "I hardly think that the crown princess taking a walk gives you the excuse to break the rules - "

"But..b- " sputtered Margaret.

"Furthermore," Gerda spoke, raising a hand to silence the maid. "I hardly think that the reports being put forward by the media serves as reason for you to address her royal highness. I seem to recall that you were included in the briefing that all employees received on the matter."

"Yes, bu -"

"That is all, Margaret. We are done here. You have a job to do and so does her royal highness," Gerda finished, silencing the woman with a fixed stare.

She then turned to smile at Elsa. "Come along, Your Highness, we must get going."

Elsa watched as the scolded maid stepped back with a deep blush on her face. Gerda, on the other-hand, displayed no reaction to the interaction as she moved forward to reclaim her lead. She couldn't help being amazed with the older woman's manner. For someone so kind and motherly, Gerda could change into a stern matron with barely any warning. Aside from her long and loyal service, Elsa knew that it was her no-nonsense, caring manner that had seen her become one of the few staff members trusted to be around her.

As if sensing her unease, Gerda spoke. "Oh you mustn't listen to her, Your Highness. She's always been a bit of a twit. I'll make a note of it to your father. Kai and I will keep a close eye on her, okay."

"Thank you, Gerda," she murmured.

"Oh don't thank me for doing my job, Your Highness. You know I'll always be here for you and your family," Gerda beamed. "Oh look at that, we're here."

Gulping, Elsa lifted her head to find the closed door of her father's study.

…**.~X~...**

Jack groaned and reached over to switch the TV off. "Emmy, I told you to get dressed for school. Mum told you to get dressed for school. So, get dressed," he ordered.

"I don't want to. My arm hurts. Can't I have the day off, Jack? My arm is itching," she whined.

Shaking his head, he reached down and pulled his sister to her feet. "You had Monday off," he reasoned. "You and Mum both had the day off and stood in your pyjamas to wave me off while I had to go to work."

"We ate ice cream on Monday!" Emily giggled. "We ate all the ice cream and you cried when you came home and saw it was gone."

Poking his tongue out, he pointed her in the direction of her room. "I remember," he grumbled. "See, you're already in my bad books for eating all the ice cream. I should think that you wouldn't want to antagonise me anymore - "

"What does antagonise mean?" Emily piped up.

"It means to make someone angry," he replied. "Which is what you will do if you don't go and get dressed for school."

Emily paused and turned to study his face. "Are you mad, Jack?" she asked.

"I will be if you don't go and get dressed for school," he answered. "You are going to school - that is non-negotiable. However, whether you go to school in your uniform with your hair tied neatly, or in your pyjamas is entirely up to you."

"Mum would let me have the day off!" Emily argued before turning to head towards her bedroom.

"Mum was the one who told me to make sure that you go to school. Also, if you're going to play the 'Mum-card' then let me remind you that Mum doesn't let you watch cartoons while you eat breakfast," he pointed out.

"Alright, alright, you win," she huffed before disappearing from sight.

Grabbing the empty cereal bowl, he made his way into the kitchen and dropped it in the sink. Whistling a happy tune, he moved to grab the bread from the pantry before pulling out the sandwich fillings and organising his and Emily's lunch.

A few minutes later, the sound of soft footsteps could be heard followed by a loud huff. Grinning, he turned to face his sister. "There, that wasn't so bad was it?" he said and indicated to her school uniform.

"What have you given me for lunch?" she asked. "Is there anything nice in there? Or have you just given me boring sandwich and fruit."

Sighing, he pulled the lid off her lunch box and held it out to show her. "You have a ham and cheese sandwich, a banana, a small tub of grapes and a few chocolate biscuits. I trust you won't tell Mum about the biscuits though," he grinned.

"I won't," she agreed. "Don't forget the thing for your girlfriend. I want you to give it to her. Tell her that I sent it and said that she must be beautiful."

Blushing, he shook his head and moved to pull the small container from the fridge. "Yes, I have the spaghetti and meatballs for Elsa and no, she is not my girlfriend," he protested.

"But she's pretty isn't she? You said she's pretty," Emily probed as she brushed past him to grab her lunch box.

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Yes, she is pretty, but we're just friends," he stated. "Besides, I only have one more week working at the castle. I probably won't see her again."

"Then ask for her number," Emily suggested. "You can do that can't you?"

He grabbed his lunch box and the container of food for Elsa and smiled. "Yeah," he mused. "I guess I can ask for her number."

…**.~X~...**

Elsa stifled a yawn. She had been cooped up in her father's study for close to two hours.

Walking in, she had found her father hunched over his computer with his adviser, John, and two selected members from the castle's public relations team. His assistant, Kai, had been quick to pull out a chair for her before leaving the room.

After greeting her, he had filled her in on the latest development in the Weselton dilemma. He'd pointed out that the claims had now garnered even more attention. While some sources remained loyal to the Arendelle royals, an increasing amount of media outlets had started to show support to the Duke and were now questioning the family. To make matters worse, they had received news that a few members of the Southern Isles royal family had come out in support of the Duke.

"All I am saying," John stated. "Is that the people are calling for a princess. Surely you could open the gates and allow people to come in. You have the balcony. You can take the girls onto the balcony. Maybe have them say a few words, pose for a few photo's and all this should blow over."

Elsa frowned as she turned her head to wait for her father's reaction.

"No, I disagree," stated another voice. "I believe if you do that the people will feel cheated. I mean, sure they will get their photo, but that proves nothing. At the moment we have people speculating that the princesses do not exist, or that there is something wrong with them like an illness or disability. On the balcony, you are protected. We've all seen the balcony photo's from other royals. A long range lens will capture the image, but it doesn't really present the girls. No, I think you need to take them out."

Biting her lip, Elsa turned to face the man who had just spoken. He'd introduced himself to her as Charles Clancy, a member of the PR team.

"Your Majesty," he continued. "If I may speak so boldly. I was not employed here when you first made the decision to close the gates. The way you handled that situation was good, but it left people with questions. Some people were happy to accept the situation. They realised that you had your reasons and that you are entitled to your privacy. Others, claimed it unfair. They claimed that you, as our King, ask us to trust in your decisions and to trust you have the Kingdom's best interest at heart. Those people felt cheated. Now, we both know how monarchy works. Once you pass away, your eldest daughter will be thrust into the role she was born to do. She will be asking those people to trust her without them knowing her."

"So what do you suggest?" Agdar asked and shot a glance at Elsa. "Do you want my daughters to say something while on the balcony?"

Charles shook his head. "No, Your Majesty. It is my belief that you should take your daughters out of the castle. Prior to closing the gates your approval rating was high. People adored you and the girls. Even today, the older members of the community still speak fondly of you and your family. They speak of the girls as if they are their own. However, it is the younger generation who are questioning you. They are the ones who are more active online and are agreeing with Weselton," he paused to pull out a piece of paper from a manilla folder before handing it to the king. "There is a charity event on Sunday. It's raising money for the largest animal shelter in the kingdom. I suggest that you attend with your family. Allow the media to snap a few photo's of the girls with a cute dog or cat and maybe have them say a few things."

Elsa gasped. Raising her head, she watched in horror as John and the other PR worker, a woman known only as Lilah, nodded their heads in agreement with Charles' suggestion. Frowning, she turned to face her father. She couldn't go to a shelter with animals and other people. The risk was far too great, she could easily hurt an innocent person or animal.

"I'll do it," Agdar stated. "Let the organisers know that I will be attending along with my wife, Idun and Princess Anna."

"What about the crown princess, Your Majesty?" Lilah asked before nodding her head in the direction of Elsa. "Won't she be attending?"

Agdar shook his head. "No, she will not," he replied.

"Forgive me, Your Majesty, but people will want to see the crown princess. She is, after all, our future queen," Charles pointed out.

"That she is, Charles," Agdar stated. "However, she is also a 16-year-old girl with studies and responsibilities. I am sure that the people can understand that their crown princess is in her second to last year of schooling and that her education is important. After all, if she wishes to be a successful ruler than she has to apply herself to her studies. Anna is only 13 and is not faced with the same educational demands as Elsa. I'm sure they will be forgiving."

Elsa watched as the room fell silent. Catching her father's gaze, she gave him a brief smile of gratitude.

"I think that we can wing it," Lilah began. "We can paint the picture that Elsa is studious and devoted to her studies. We will point out that part of her studies includes learning the skills necessary to rule a country. I think people will accept it. I will type up a few phrases for yourself and Queen Idun to say in order to support the statement."

Elsa glanced around as the PR team pulled their iPad's out and began tapping away at the screen. She watched as her father pulled one of the papers out from the pile on his desk and began to flick through it.

Clearing her throat, she fixed her attention on her father. "Will Anna be okay?" she asked and frowned slightly.

Her father lifted his head to look at her. "Of course she will. She loves animals. This event will be her idea of heaven," he said with a smile. "She'll be fine, Elsa. So will you for that matter."

…**.~X~...**

Jack groaned as he lowered himself onto the bench in preparation for his rostered lunch break. Despite his youthfulness, he could still feel his muscles starting to ache. A painful reminder of just how hard he had been working.

His time at the castle was slowly coming to an end. According to the report that Tia Bunnymund had sent in, Jack and his colleagues should have the castle job completed within a week. As a result, the entire team had started to push themselves to work harder in order to stay on schedule. Idle chit chat and good-natured jokes had been pushed aside in favour of buckling down and powering through their last few tasks.

The section of yard that had once been empty was now home to a rather impressive looking pergola with only a few minor touch-ups needed. The new benches had sprung up around the yard and had already proven useful when it had come time for his co-workers to take their lunch breaks. Still, despite the pride he felt in having been allowed to work on the project, he couldn't deny that the prospect of saying goodbye to the castle did come with its own pitfalls.

He had come to enjoy his regular conversations with Elsa. As time passed, she had grown to become someone whose presence he enjoyed. Their rocky start was all but forgotten as they slowly revealed more about themselves and their lives. He hadn't realised how much their chats had come to mean to him, until his mother had pointed out that he spent more time discussing his hour spent with Elsa then the rest of his working day. Of course, she had then gone on to suggest that he had developed a crush, which he had vehemently denied. Elsa was beautiful, caring and kind, but that didn't mean he had a crush on her.

Or so he'd thought. It hadn't been until after he'd dropped Emily at school that he had been forced to own up to his feelings. He had pulled up to the school gate and had been faced with his 9-year-old sister demanding he exchanged contact details with Elsa. After he'd pulled away from the gate, he had gone over the reasons he could have to ask for her number. He had told himself that he simply wanted to continue to talk to her. He had then found himself picturing the two of them catching up over coffee, or hanging at his home with a bowl of ice cream and a pile of movies while he shooed his nosy sister out of the way. It had only been when he had found himself imagining them finishing their dates with a kiss that he'd been forced to face facts - he had referred to these hypothetical catch-ups as 'dates' and he had broken into a dopey grin when he'd pictured him and Elsa kissing.

However, despite having had all day to come to terms with his obvious crush, he had decided to play it cool and to continue to approach their relationship as a simple friendship. For starters, he had to look at how his and Elsa's interactions had begun. She had been quite reluctant and shy around him at first. Even now, he sensed that she was still holding back. As kind as she was, he could tell that she was someone who needed time to trust and open up to people. He worried that if he appeared to be too forceful and suddenly shifted from 'friend' to 'wannabe love interest' that he would freak her out.

He also had to face the fact that things at her workplace were currently tense. Six days had passed since the claims against the royal family had appeared in the paper. In that time, the story had appeared in more papers and had been discussed on the morning radio as well as TV news segments. King Agdar had yet to say anything publicly which seemed to have caused more friction. Jack had noticed a growing crowd of reporters had started to gather outside the the castle gates. It had started with only a small selection, but as the days passed the interest had only continued to build. The small media presence had made it difficult to get onto the grounds as reporters had taken to approaching all who were seen to enter and exit the castle . As a result, Jack and several of his colleagues had been late to work and had been forced to keep their windows tightly wound while they tried to get past the crowd. He could only imagine how bad it was for Elsa and her colleagues.

"Good afternoon, Jack," a soft voice called.

Grinning, he raised his head to meet Elsa's gaze. "Hi there," he greeted. "How are you?"

"I've been better. How are you? How's Emily?" she responded as she joined him on the bench.

"I'm good. Emily...she is fine. Actually, she sent something in for you," he said.

Reaching into his freezer lunch bag, he pulled out the small tupperware container and the fork. "Here," he smiled and handed it to Elsa. "We made spaghetti and meatballs last night and Emmy decided that you had to try it. In fact, she demanded that I saved some for you. She's become quite fond of you."

"Oh, that's so sweet," Elsa said as she took the container. "Wait, you talk about me?"

Blushing, he nodded. "I do. Apparently quite a bit. Emily thinks that you're a pretty princess," he chuckled. "I was telling her how your name is Elsa. I did tell her that the name became really popular after the king and queen called their baby Elsa, but I don't think Em got the memo. As such, she thinks that everyone with the name is a princess."

Beside him, he heard Elsa take in a breath before letting out a soft chuckle. "She has quite the imagination, doesn't she?" she giggled. "Still, tell her I said thanks. Is this the famous 'Jack and Emily Frost spaghetti and meatballs' that I'm about to try?"

Grinning, he turned to wink at her. "That it is, Milady. All compliments can be directed to me and I shall pass them on to my assistant chef."

A silence fell between them as Elsa tucked into the serving. Jack pulled out his sandwich and took a bite.

"Jack!" Elsa exclaimed. "Jack, this is...this is amazing! This is delicious."

He swallowed a bite of his sandwich and turned to look at her. "I'm glad you like it."

"Like it? I think you should be hired to be my chef...I mean, if I had one," Elsa giggled.

"It was my pleasure. As I said, we made it last night and it was Em's idea," he blushed. "So, how are things here...in the castle I mean?"

Elsa let out a loud sigh. "It's...it's...well, stressful. I think everyone is a bit stressed with the pressure from Weselton," she replied.

Jack nodded. "Yeah, that Weselton guy sounds like a moron. I mean, the king and queen have their reasons for closing the gates. I'm not paying the guy any attention. Although, my mum has started calling him Weaselton," he chuckled.

Beside him, Elsa said nothing. Frowning, he turned to face her. "Have you had any issue with the reporters? Every day there seems to be more who arrive. My boss told us to wind our window up and just ignore them, though they are persistent. This morning I had one block my car and had to honk the horn. They are vultures," he continued.

Elsa nodded. "They are. From what I've heard they are targeting anyone seen entering or leaving the castle," she muttered.

"Have you been caught out yet?" he asked.

He watched as Elsa's eyes widened as she turned to face him. "N...no," she stammered. "I've been lucky. I've just heard about it."

"Yeah, well I just hope this blows over soon. I mean, it's so disrespectful what they are saying. I read a post on Facebook last night and they were claiming that the princesses were dead, or that they are deformed or some crap. It's just awful. I feel sorry for the king, queen and the princesses. I hope they know not to listen to these idiots," he grumbled.

He turned to watch as Elsa furrowed her brows before shaking her head. "Yeah…" she murmured. "It's not nice."

Shaking his head, he slipped his empty wrapper back into his lunch box. "I'm sorry, Elsa," he apologised. "You probably can't say much. Either way, I just wanted to say that I'm not one of those people who believes the old guy. Neither does my mum or sister."

"I'm glad," she whispered.

Clearing his throat, he turned to face her. "So, why did the tomato blush?"

Beside him, Elsa let out a groan. "Because he saw the salad dressing," she finished. "You told me that one on Monday. You're starting to repeat yourself here, Jack."

He ran a hand through his hair before poking his tongue out at her. "Just testing you. I wanted to see if you really pay attention to me, or if you're just bluffing," he countered.

"Oh believe me, some of those jokes I wish I _could _forget," she teased.

Frowning, he turned to face her before leaning back and placing his hand over his heart. "Oh, so that's how it is? I tell you these jokes out of the kindness of my heart and you continue to tease me, to insult me. That's really nice of you, Elsa. I thought we had something special here...I thought we were friends," he joked.

"We are," she blushed. "Friends, I mean."

Biting his lip, he shifted his attention to the ground. "I'm glad," he whispered.

He glanced at his watch and noticed that his lunch hour was almost over and he would be expected back at work soon. Biting his lip, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. "Elsa?"

"Yes, Jack,"

Taking a deep breath, he turned to face her. "I don't know if you know this, but my time at the castle is almost over. Our boss seems to believe that we will be finished by this time next week. "

He heard Elsa gulp and paused to look at her. When she said nothing, he continued.

"I've really enjoyed our talks. I guess you could say that I've come to see you as someone I really like, like a friend," he turned to glance at her, noticing the way her blue eyes were fixed on him. "Anyway, I was wondering if we could...if we could...exchange details. Like a phone number, or Facebook details. I don't want to stop talking to you simply because my work here has finished. I really like you...I mean, talking to you...and yeah."

…**~X~...**

Elsa blinked. Glancing up, she was met with Jack's gaze as he looked at her. She knew he was awaiting her answer. It was a simple question to him. He still thought that she was a castle employee and that she was normal.

She felt like time had stopped around her while she weighed up her options. Every ounce of logic told her that it was a stupid idea. He was a member of the public and he was normal. In a few years, he would become one of her subjects and she would be his queen. He would then realise that she had lied to him and had concealed her identity. On the other-hand, he made her feel normal. He was her first 'real' friend. Well, her first friend outside of Anna. He was the one bright spark in her day and she would miss their chats when he left.

Still, it would be stupid and irresponsible to say yes. Everytime he innocently mentioned the royal family, her family, it was like a kick to the guts. He continued to bring her real identity up and showed such respect to her and her entire family. He would surely hate her if he knew that he'd been in the presence of the crown princess for the last few weeks.

No, she could not agree to it. Saying yes would leave it open for him to ask her to catch up in person. He would surely expect to see her outside of the castle grounds, or to go to her home to pick her up. Not to mention that she couldn't exactly walk out the front door like a normal teen. Even without her powers, she came with baggage. For her to leave the grounds, she would need to be followed by bodyguards. Of course, they would wear casual clothes, but they would still be there and would serve as a constant reminder that she was different.

"Elsa" Jack probed. "Are you okay?"

Blinking, she shook her head. "Sorry," she blushed. "I got caught up in my thoughts. You reminded me that I need to make a new email account. I kind of lost the password to my current one and can't remember it."

Jack chuckled. "Don't you hate that? Used to happen to me all the time. Do you have a phone?"

She nodded. "I do."

"And?" Jack said. "Come on, Elsa, don't make me beg."

Shaking her head, she turned to face him. "I'll give you my number," she murmured. "If you send me your email details I can send you an email when I make a new one."

She watched as Jack's face lit up and he hastily brought his phone out and typed her name down before handing the device to her so that she could enter her details.

'_So much for my resolve,'_ she thought.

…**..~X~...**

"Oh, I wish they would stop harassing the poor royals," Caroline Frost moaned as she settled down on the couch beside Jack.

Raising his head, he turned to look at the television where the news programme was showing the increasing crowd outside the castle gates.

"Jack," his mum called. "Didn't you say that the reporters have been there when you've arrived for work?"

He nodded. "They have. We've already been briefed. Some bigwig's from the castle's PR team came down on Monday morning and told us to ignore the media. They told us exactly what to say if asked."

"Mummy," Emily called as she walked into the living room. "Did you know Jack asked for the princess girl's number? He likes her."

Jack groaned and buried his head in his hands. He could feel his cheeks heating up.

"Oh did he?" Caroline exclaimed before reaching to poke him in the ribs. "I thought you said she wasn't your girlfriend, Jack."

"She's not my girlfriend," he stated, lifting his head to stare at his mum and sister. "She's a friend and yes I do like her. Also, she's not a princess. Just because her name is Elsa doesn't mean she's a princess."

"But she works at the castle!" Emily protested. "Also, you said she's pretty and everyone knows that princesses are pretty!"

Reaching over, he grabbed his sister and pulled her to sit on his lap. "There is at least one other Elsa who works at the castle," he reasoned. "I've only ever met one princess."

"You have? Who?" Emily gasped and shuffled around to face him.

Grinning, he leaned down to whisper in her ear. "I can't tell you her name, but I can give you a description and see if you can guess," he murmured. "She's 9. She has brown hair and brown eyes. She currently has a cast on her arm from when she fell and broke her arm. She has the world's coolest brother and her name has 5 letters in it and starts with an E - "

"Me!" Emily shrieked.

Nodding his head, he leaned down and tickled her. "That's right. You're the only princess I know."

…**..~X~...**

Elsa groaned as she flopped against the headboard of her bed. She couldn't believe the way her life was spiralling out of control around her.

In the days that had passed since her meeting with her father and the PR team, things had only got worse. Her father's PR team had made the decision to announce that the royal family would be attending the charity event at the shelter. However, their choice to spill the beans had backfired. The media had then decided to increase their presence around the castle, which had led to increased security as the guards worked to prevent reporters from catching a glimpse when castle employees arrived for work. Not to be outdone, the Duke had stepped forward and had pointed out that the Arendelle royals had blown him off when he'd enquired about the princesses privately. He had stated that the royals had only decided to leap into action now that the media had got involved and that it was nothing more than a PR move.

He had made his intentions clear. He would not be happy until he had seen both Elsa and Anna.

To make matters worse, the Duke wasn't the only one who wanted to see her.

She also had to deal with the fact that her logic had gone out the window and she had stupidly allowed herself to exchange details with Jack. She had known at the time that to agree to his simple request was stupid. However, when she had been there faced with his blue eyes staring into her own, she had felt her resolve weakening. Logic had gone out the window and she had reacted based on the way he had made her feel.

As promised, she had made a new email address and had sent it to him via text message that night. He had responded almost instantly and had then asked about social media sites. His reaction when she had told him that she didn't have a Facebook or social media account had been priceless. He had fired back to ask if she had grown up in a cave and she had laughed. It was only after her laughter died down that she had stopped to look around her luxurious bedroom and had felt the familiar pang of guilt.

A knock on her door interrupted her from her thoughts. Frowning, she stood to her feet and padded over to the doorway. Pulling her door open, she was faced with her father and mother. Bowing her head, she stepped back and gestured for them to enter.

"Elsa," her father began. "Honey, we need...we need to talk."

Gulping, she looked at him. "What is wrong? Did anything happen at the event today? Is Anna okay?"

She watched as her father took a seat on the corner of her bed before pulling his wife down to sit beside him.

"Anna is fine. In fact, she's more than fine. She loved seeing the animals and it took all our strength in order to walk away from the event without her having adopted all the animals on offer. On a whole, the event was fine," he began. "However, there was a slight mishap...and it involves you."

Jerking her head, she turned to face him. "Me? I wasn't there. How could it involve me?" she asked.

Her father didn't answer for a while. Instead, he took a deep breath and turned to face his wife who nodded.

"Well," he began. "You know how the PR team decided that we would explain your absence by saying that you were studying?"

She nodded. "Yes, I remember. I did actually do some study too. I used the time that we'd normally be having our weekly family lunch to study."

"Okay," her father continued. "Your mother and I we explained your absence early on. It was the first thing we did after greeting the crowd. We also introduced the crowd to Anna -"

"The crowd loved Anna," her mum interrupted. "They absolutely loved her. We gave her the microphone and she fielded a few simple questions. She mostly blabbed about One Direction and that 5 Minutes of Summer group she likes - "

"Seconds, dear," Agdar interrupted. "The other group is 5 Seconds of Summer - "

"Oh, Agdar," Idun chided. "That's hardly the point - "

"Says you," Agdar chuckled. "I was the one who was scolded that the one time I called the One Direction boys No Direction"

"So, you were saying?" she probed and turned to face her parents.

Her father let out a loud sigh. "Oh right," he blushed. "Anyway, all was going well. We wandered around and talked to people, shook hands, posed for photo's. Anna had her photo taken with a lot of animals…"

"What is so bad about that?" she asked.

"Nothing," Agdar replied. "Except for the part where a reporter asked Anna if she wished that you were with us."

She felt her heart sink. Something about the way her parents were behaving, the nervous chuckling and the shared looks told her that whatever Anna had said was not good.

Wrapping her arms around her body, she looked at her father. "What did Anna say?" she whispered.

Her mum reached out to stroke her arm, but she dodged the touch. She could feel the ice beginning to form in her fingertips. "No, it's not safe," she said and noted the hurt look on her mother's face. "I'm sorry."

"Elsa," her father began. "She..Anna said," he sighed and took a deep breath. "Anna told the reporters that she never sees you."

* * *

><p><strong>ANote - My deepest apologies for being so late. The Christmas/ New Years period as well as few personal emergencies took it out of me. However, am now back on schedule. I hope you all had a lovely holiday season. I was spoilt with Frozen/ Elsa goodies to add to my ever-growing collection. **


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